BLADDER/URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS (CHRONIC):
We have developed a unique and innovative protocol to successfully treat one form of chronic urinary tract/bladder infection that afflicts both men and women.
Urinary tract and bladder infections are conditions that most women have experienced at least once in their lives, so are aware of the symptoms and presentation. Infections are typically bacterial in origin. Our treatment is for a less common infection caused by a totally different mechanism.
Neurogenic Infection:
This form of chronic urinary tract/bladder infection is caused by a nerve compression of the nerves that supply the bladder with its function.
The bladder is an organ that resembles an empty balloon, whose function is to hold urine that trickles down from both kidneys. The wall of the bladder has several layers of tissue, one of which is a thin layer of muscle. This muscle layer is required to provide strength to the bladder and to allow it the ability to stretch while filling with urine. The smooth muscle layer will not allow the bladder to break open if it is over-filled in someone who is not able to empty it for some time. Whenever the main nerve supplying a muscle or organ is compressed, the result will affect the tone of the muscle. In some cases, a muscle goes soft and flaccid, yet in other cases it becomes rigid.
Normal Bladder Function:
Receptor cells embedded in the inner lining of the bladder become compressed by the influx of urine filling the bladder. Under normal circumstances, the smooth muscle wall of the bladder will gently stretch as the bladder fills allowing the receptor cells on the innermost lining layer to not take the brunt of the pressure. Both the receptor cells and the smooth muscle wall of the bladder compress equally until you experience the urge to urinate. An absence of any nerve compression supplying the bladder allows for normal communication to and from the smooth muscle, and the sensitive inner lining’s receptor cells.
Dysfunctional Bladder:
Compression of nerve fibres supplying the bladder results in a few very distinct signs and symptoms common to any nerve compression. Over sensitive receptor cells signal the need to urinate even though there is very little urine in the bladder. Secondly, you may experience pressure, intermittent pain and general bladder discomfort, all due to improperly functioning nerve communication network. Finally, you will experience an increased tone in the smooth muscle of the bladder wall. Whenever you urinate, pockets of urine are not able to drain out due to the increased tone (tightness) in that portion of the bladder. Nerve compressions may increase the overall tone of the bladder, or affect a small portion of it. Urine that does not drain from within a section of the bladder will eventually result in a bladder infection. Over time this infection could migrate up the urethra’s causing a urinary tract infection. In the severest of cases, one or both kidney’s could be affected by a migrating infection leading to a case of interstitial cystitis.
Treatment:
The goal of this treatment is to fully remove any compression of bladder nerve fibres, allowing normal bladder function to return. Treatment involves a special nerve decompression protocol that we developed utilizing extracorporeal shockwave therapy.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy is used to reach deep within the interconnecting and supportive connective tissue of the lower abdomen, providing a similar process as is used to break apart kidney stones.
Locations of major compression are charted and analyzed to see if they could be responsible for other lower organ dysfunction including colon causing chronic constipation, small intestine for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or pelvic pain syndrome (pudendal neuralgia).
Success in treating this condition comes from our use of a high powered shockwave unit, the same unit used in our non-surgical bunion removal process.
A total of 3 treatments is required to fully address all of the regions in the abdomen where the bladder nerves travel. However, you will feel a tremendous release of abdominal pressure and bladder symptoms immediately following the first treatment. By the end of the third and final treatment, you will feel like a cement block has been removed from your abdomen.
Note: **
The treatments eliminate the increased tone of the bladder wall so that all the urine can drain out every time you void. You will have to continue with medication until the current infection clears up.
Treatments are often coupled with other specialized treatment protocols to treat chronic constipation and/or Pudendal Nerve Neuropathy, a different but very painful pelvic nerve compression syndrome. Pelvic pain syndrome is the term used to describe any or all 3 of these conditions. If you suffer from any pelvic problems, please contact us and arrange for a thorough assessment to determine whether you are suffering from 2 or more nerve compression syndromes in the lower abdominal/pelvic region.