Bladder spasms are the kind of involuntary contractions that take place in the bladder, over which the person has no control that may lead to urinary incontinence over a period of time and which may also be very painful.
Bladder spasms are indicative of a loss of control over the bladder, which is what causes urine leakage and are usually defined as acute spasmodic pain that originates in the bladder.
Though bladder spasms are most often seen as occurring with age (the most common demographic of individuals who have bladder spasms are individuals over 60), children are also known to suffer from this when they have undergone surgery such as the ureteral reimplantation surgery.
Though age is the chief factor seen as being responsible for bladder spasms, there are several other factors which can cause them:
- droopy bladder syndrome is one of the reasons why women may develop bladder spasms.
- interstitial cystitis can also contribute to this disorder.
- Certain kinds of infections, particularly bladder infections such as Urinary tract infection are also a cause of this, especially among women.
- Sometime victims of stroke may also develop bladder spasms since strokes damage areas of the brain which may contribute to the involuntary contractions that characterize bladder spasms.
- When people develop neurological problems as a result of advancing age or any other reason, this can contribute to bladder spasms since the brain sends erroneous messages to the nerves in the bladder.
- Some women have a particularly shaped or sized urethra, which increases the chances of them developing bladder spasms and they often find this to develop into a chronic condition.
The chief symptoms of bladder spasms are:
- Contraction of the bladder which gives rise to the feeling like having the urge to urinate. This contraction is random, and mostly unpredictable.
- Bladder spasms are also accompanied by pain; some times this is excruciating pain that some women liken with the pain of labor contractions. The spasms can also be fairly violent which is what makes them painful.
To avoid getting this disorder, it is important to drink lots of water to help keep the urinary tract clean. It is also important to ‘go’ when the urge strikes. It is not healthy to hold it in and frequent trips to the loo actually help have a healthier bladder.
Cranberry juice is also a healthy addition to your diet that will help prevent bacterial infection in the urinary tract.
Thanks for the UTI information.