Who can get urinary incontinence?
Urinary incontinence is more common than what people think and effects over 25 million people in the States alone. It is more common in women over 50 and can be mild and only leaks urine when one coughs or sneezes or it can be so severe that incontinence pads need to be worn. It effects women more because of pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. Being overweight can also be a contributing factor which cause the nerves and muscles to lose strength and tone and then leads to loss of bladder control.
What causes urinary incontinence according to Chinese medicine?
Chinese medicine has the view that the kidneys connect to the bladder and the bladder to the genital organs, so in many instances, the kidneys are the cause of urinary problems including incontinence. In other cases, the lungs may play a contributing factor in the weakness of the bladder and this explains why some people leak urine when they cough.
Chinese medicine says there is cold and hot incontinence
Chinese medicine views that the left and right kidneys have different functions as one is left, yin and one is right, yang. When the kidney yin is more predominately the problem, there is heat and this type of incontinence has smaller amounts of urine which is often yellow. When the right kidney is involved, there is likely to be large amounts of clear urine.
Chinese herbal formula to treat the left and right kidney
There are two herbal formula that translate as Return to the Left and Return to the Right Kidney Pill. There are other distinguishing signs and symptoms to identify which formula may be the appropriate one. If there is more heat, the person may feel dry and get hot hands and feet. If there is more cold, there could be cold hands and feet and an achy low back.
Acupuncture and moxibustion for the kidneys
There are acupuncture points in the legs known as the Kidney Passing Points and often the lower back requires moxibustion at the acupuncture point shen shu, the Kidney Transport point.
Exercises to help urinary incontinence
Kegels are an exercise where one repeatedly squeezes and relaxes the pelvic floor muscles. There is also a qi gong exercise where you put your hands behind your back and rub in a circular motion to warm up your kidneys.
The Acupuncture Clinic and Connect Therapies
Heiko Lade of The Acupuncture Clinic in Hastings and Kane Monrad of Connect Therapies in Hamilton are both members of Acupuncture New Zealand and use the Master Tung Style of Acupuncture exclusively in their practices.
