Patient education

Your bladder & pelvic floor

Leaking, urgency, and pressure are common — and almost always treatable. None of it is something you have to live with.

Overactive bladder

affects about 1 in 7 women

A sudden, strong urge to go — sometimes with leaking before you reach the bathroom. Many people quietly reorganize their lives around it, mapping restrooms and skipping outings. That is the part worth treating.

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What helps — usually in this order

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Stress incontinence

1 in 3 women over 45

Leaking when you cough, laugh, sneeze, run, or lift. It comes from support that has been stretched or weakened — by pregnancy and childbirth, chronic constipation or coughing, smoking, weight, heavy lifting, or simply time.

What helps

Pelvic floor muscle exercises and formal pelvic floor physical therapy come first, alongside bladder training and vaginal estrogen where appropriate. Weight loss genuinely improves symptoms. If those are not enough, urethral bulking injections or a midurethral sling are effective surgical options.

Pelvic floor dysfunction

Your pelvic floor muscles have to coordinate — tightening to hold, releasing to empty. When that coordination is off, the symptoms are wide-ranging and often confusing: frequent urination, leaking, constipation, low back pain, and pain in the pelvis, genitals, or rectum.

Often mistaken for

Interstitial cystitis, IBS, or prolapse — which is why an exam matters before settling on a diagnosis.

What helps

Pelvic floor physical therapy, individualized to whether your muscles are too tight or too weak. Ask us for a referral.

GynJess · Jessica Bell, PA-C, MSCP, ISSWSH Fellow Page 1 of 2

Prolapse, dryness, and pain

Bladder & pelvic floor

Pelvic organ prolapse

When the muscles and connective tissue that hold your pelvic organs in place weaken or tear, those organs can settle downward into the vagina. Some people feel pressure or rubbing; some can feel tissue at the opening. It is common, it is not dangerous, and it does not always need surgery — a pessary supports the tissue and can be fitted in the office.

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Genitourinary syndrome of menopause

up to 70% never mention it

Once called vaginal atrophy. As estrogen falls, the tissue of the vulva, vagina, and urethra thins — causing dryness, burning, pain with sex, urgency, frequency, and repeat UTIs. It is progressive without treatment, and highly treatable with it.

The best treatment is the one you will actually use. Vaginal estrogen comes as a cream, a ring changed every three months, or a small insert; prasterone is another option. With creams, throw the applicator away and apply with your finger — purposefully, to the vulva, where the symptoms are.

Bladder pain / interstitial cystitis

Chronic bladder pain with no infection to explain it. Debilitating, and frequently dismissed. Evaluation rules out infection, blood in the urine, and STIs, and checks for prolapse or tenderness. Treatment layers diet and fluid changes, pelvic floor PT for tight muscles, and medications — with more options if those are not enough.

Lichen sclerosus

A chronic skin condition of the vulva: intense itching that is worse at night, pain, whitened or fragile skin, tearing, and over time a change in the shape of the tissue. It is more common when estrogen is low. A strong steroid ointment brings it into remission, then a maintenance dose keeps it there. Where you apply it matters — ask for a mirror and a diagram.

A note on urethral caruncle

A small, non-cancerous pink growth at the opening of the urethra, linked to low estrogen. It only needs treating if it causes burning, pain, or spotting when you wipe — usually with topical estrogen or an anti-inflammatory cream.

Bring this to your visit

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None of this is too small to bring up.

Pessary fittings and checks, prolapse care, and bladder symptoms — in Corvallis.

gynjess.com · 2358 NW Kings Blvd #202, Corvallis

General education, not medical advice for your specific situation.

GynJess · Jessica Bell, PA-C, MSCP, ISSWSH Fellow Page 2 of 2