Urinary Problems and Incontinence

[Nick777]

I am a 21 year old male and have been having problems with frequency and urgency of urination for about 6 months now.  The problem began soon after I was forced to pick up my dog, who was being attacked by another dog, though I'm not completely sure the symptoms are related to that.  After the incident involving my dog, I experienced some muscle soreness and stiffness in my lower back.  The incident occurred on a Friday and on Monday I began to experience some strange "fluttering" sensations in my low abdomen just above my genitals.  The "fluttering" would only appear directly after I had gotten out of a hot shower in the morning and would improve over the course of the day.  The symptoms progressed causing urgent and frequent urination that appeared to be worst when sitting for any period of time.  Over the following months, my symptoms of urgency and frequency improved considerably.  Doctors and my chiropractor had ordered a CT scan of my abdomen, an ultrasound imaging test of the abdomen, and also an MRI to check for a herniated disc in my lumbar spine.  The CT scan showed a .7mm mass that doctors were concerned about, causing them to run the ultrasound imaging test.  The ultrasound came back negative and the doctors said there was nothing out of the ordinary on the MRI.  The symptoms are not nearly as bad as they were but still bother me considerably.  I experience small leakages of urine during any type of physical activity.  I have been trying Kegel exercises to help with this problem, with little result.  I still experience frequent and sometimes urgent urination, especially immediately following a hot shower.  The doctors have been unable to give me any answers on what is actually the problem.  Recently, I have noticed a decrease in my urine flow.  Some times are worse than others as far as urine flow goes.  This problem is accompanied by a slight achy, swollen feeling just above my genitals.  Please help.

[zartann999]

Hey Nick,

That's actually my brother's name too... Anyhow, I herniated a disc at L2/L3 maybe two years ago. Nothing but centralized pain at the time, xrayed revealed no bone damage. Fast forward a couple years, started experiencing pain in that same region after work long days on comp with so-so posture. Has an MRI done that showed a very slight tear, with no major nerve impingment. Both Neuro's I saw said that the only real sensation I 'should' be feeling is localized back pain. Well, If that's all I was feeling, I'd be fine with it. However I do feel that is has affected my urination pattern; go a little more frequently, a feeling like the bladder is totally empty. Made the doc's take another eagle eye look a the MRIs (full spine at this point), but still, both said the herniation levels are inconsequential, and shouldn't be doing anything for my by bladder. Still not buying it, I isolated the the things that exacerbate the feeling; twisting the spine, super bad posture, and and working on completely elimating them. How? Through a workout routine I put together with the best PT team in town. It consists so a variety of core work, which I can get into. But the pain thing that seems to help is cable rowing either with a pad to the chest, lateral pulldowns with my back at 45%, external shoulder rotations, and rear delt work. I'm gradually opening up my posture, that really, really seems to helping.

How have you been doing?

Best.

Warren

[Nick777]

My initial post was from early November '08.  My urinary symptoms have improved since that posting, though they are still not 100%.  I don't have any back pain anymore, which makes me wonder if the two problems weren't separate and coincidental.  I appreciate your suggestion on the exercise.  I have been trying to exercise regularly.  It seems to me that my back pain was most likely caused by strained muscles since they reassured me that there was nothing structurally wrong with my spine or the soft tissue.  My urinary symptoms seem to improve and then worsen without any warning or apparent trigger.  Something must cause it, but I'm sure having trouble pinning it down.  I've adjusted things like vitamins I take and I have started to drink more water and less caffeinated beverages.  Hopefully it will continue to improve.  I am scheduled to see the urologist again when I get home from school in early May.  I hope your work-out program continues to help you symptoms.

Thanks,

Nick