Treating Female Urinary Incontinence 

The three major categories of treatment for urinary incontinence include:
 
Behavioral
Behavioral treatment may include scheduled toileting, bladder retraining, pelvic muscle rehabilitation, diet modification, and evaluation of current medications.

     Scheduled toileting puts the patient on a regular voiding schedule and is frequently recommended for the elderly, bedridden or Alzheimers patients.
 
     Bladder retraining trains the bladder to delay voiding for progressively larger time intervals and has been proven effective in some cases of urge and mixed incontinence. 

     Pelvic muscle rehabilitation involves pelvic muscle exercises and can be used in conjunction with biofeedback therapy, vaginal weight training, pelvic floor stimulation and magnetic therapy.

Pharmacological
Physicians can prescribe medications to help control incontinence.  The prescribing physician may also eliminate currently used prescriptions that may contribute to urinary incontinence. 
 
Surgical
Surgical treatment should be performed only after a thorough evaluation to identify the cause of incontinence and once all appropriate non-surgical treatments have been applied. 
 
Female Sling
One solution available to patients suffering from incontinence is the surgical insertion of a sling. The sling serves as support for the urethra.
 
     Bone-fixated slings treat incontinence by supporting the urethra with a graft material that is secured to the pubic bone.
 
     Self-fixating slings also treat incontinence by supporting the urethra. However, the sling is secured in place by friction and natural tissue ingrowth, rather than by sutures or screws. Some new slings feature small, self-fixating tips that anchor the sling and provide short-term fixation. Mesh characteristics allow tissue fixation without suturing.