Donna Stegman: Overcoming Pelvic Floor Struggles and Urine Leakage

Donna Stegman never imagined that a deep exhale could change her life. The Northern Kentucky resident had been struggling with urine leakage for years and wearing Depends to guard against “accidents.”

When medication and Botox injections provided little improvement, her urogynecologist suggested trying pelvic floor physical therapy.

Donna wasn’t enthusiastic, but she agreed to try it. “I didn’t have any confidence in it,” she says. “I thought, ‘I don’t know why I’m going here. How can physical therapy help me?’ I was wrong.”

Donna’s pelvic floor physical therapist at St. Elizabeth listened to her description of experiencing her worst leaking when she stood up out of a chair. Urine would start leaking immediately, and she would get her clothes wet on the way to the bathroom.

When Donna stood up, her core was tightening which put pressure downwards on her bladder. She was encouraged to exhale instead when standing up and to gently squeeze her pelvic floor muscles.

Donna recalls, “I couldn’t believe that would take care of it, but it worked! I didn’t tell anyone for a week, because I couldn’t believe it.”

In addition to finding success with exhaling when she stood up, Donna worked on strengthening the main muscle that surrounds her vagina and rectum. This muscle assists the urethra, a tube that carries urine out of the body, to close off and prevent leakage.

Results are normally seen fairly quickly with patients who have urinary incontinence and Donna achieved all of her goals in just three visits.

Donna has retrained her brain to feel the urge to urinate every three hours during the day. The regular schedule increases her bladder control. She also does Kegel exercises twice a day, with 10 repetitions at 10 seconds each and five repetitions while exhaling. “The physical therapist’s explanation of how to do the exercises properly was helpful”, Donna says.

“I still can’t quite believe that this keeps working,” Donna marvels. “It wasn’t medicine I needed to correct me. I’m doing this myself.”

Physical therapists at St. Elizabeth want women to be able to manage symptoms on their own. They help to create an individual treatment plan and goals for every patient.

Donna admits that talking about incontinence and seeking help isn’t always easy. She is extremely pleased to no longer wear Depends or deal with wet pants.

She also is grateful for the therapy team’s ability to put her at ease. “I felt comfortable right away. They’re smiling. They’re friendly. They let you talk.”

Donna continues, “I encourage other women to ask their doctor about physical therapy and give it a try.”

Any leakage or pelvic pain is not normal. The team at St. Elizabeth can help women with stool and urinary incontinence, pelvic floor weakness, pelvic pain, constipation and sexual discomfort.

Therapies include exercises to strengthen or relax muscles, biofeedback to engage the brain in awareness of the pelvic floor muscles, and electrical stimulation and ultrasound to relieve pelvic pain.

You too can have a success story like Donna’s. Learn more about Urogynecology or Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy at St. Elizabeth or call (859) 757-2132 to schedule an appointment.