Panama City, Fla. -
New research is shedding light on a painful bladder condition that often gets misdiagnosed. This chronic bladder condition is called Interstitial Cystitis or IC. There's no cure, but there are treatments that can bring some relief.
Bea Soto is the Director of the Pelvic Floor Rehab program at Panama City Urological Center.
She says, "Unfortunately, it masks like a bladder infection so a lot of the times they'll go to the doctor, and they'll get treated over and over and over for bladder infection when it's really Interstitial Cystitis, and it hasn't been diagnosed yet.
Symptoms of IC include bladder pain, burning, urgency and frequency, meaning the patient feels as if he or she needs to urinate often.
Even though there's no cure for IC, Soto says the Pelvic Floor Rehab program can be used to evaluate and treat the pain.
"We can get the muscles to relax yet strengthen them and stop some of the spasming that goes on down there," explains Soto.
The rehab program uses a computer and a combination of exercises to accomplish that goal. Soto says there is research being done for even more success with treatment options.
She also says a proper diet and stress relief can help ease symptoms, which is part of the patient education portion of the rehab program.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WMBB. All Rights Reserved. For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
