Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a painful bladder condition that affects as many as 8 million women and 4 million men in the United States. Although researchers aren’t sure what causes IC, they believe it may be linked to inflammatory conditions that affect the bladder and other areas of the body.
Treating IC can be problematic, largely because therapies that work for one person may not work for another. Most people benefit from a variety of treatment options focused on managing pain and, ideally, preventing it.
At Easy Reach Chiropractic, Barbara Adonis, DC, and Heather Previll, PT, DPT, help patients find relief for IC symptoms using a holistic pain management approach that prioritizes each patient’s individual needs. If you suffer from interstitial cystitis, here’s how they can help you.
Interstitial cystitis can happen at any age, although it’s more common among people in their 50s. The condition itself causes painful inflammation in the bladder wall.
Depending on the severity of your IC, you can have symptoms like:
Painful symptoms increase as your bladder fills and resolve, at least partially, when you urinate.
Interstitial cystitis symptoms tend to occur in cycles, with “flare-ups” involving more severe and more frequent symptoms. These flare-ups can be triggered by different factors, like stress, menstruation, urinary tract infections, or sex.
Though medication may help improve some symptoms of IC, most people experience optimal relief with comprehensive treatment focused on lifestyle changes and optimizing health overall. Our team is skilled in techniques that help manage pain by focusing on nerves involved in pain signaling, including nerves involved in bladder sensations.
Pain signals travel along special nerve pathways that connect your brain to every part of your body. Pain happens when these signals are disrupted or acted upon in a negative way.
Chiropractic adjustments focus on optimizing nerve pathways and activity, eliminating nerve compression that can lead to increased pain signaling. Regular adjustments support normal nerve communication between the pelvic region and the brain, potentially reducing painful IC symptoms.
Our team knows that a healthy body needs to move. That’s why many of our pain management therapies include regular exercise.
For women and men with IC, that can mean general exercise to promote better circulation and help relieve inflammation, as well as pelvic floor exercises to strengthen the muscles and ligaments that support the bladder. In addition to on-site exercises, we recommend activities you can do at home to maintain pelvic health.
Since IC flare-ups are often related to personal triggers, our team also helps patients find ways to avoid those triggers or reduce their effects. For instance, we can help you learn simple, effective ways to manage stress, a common trigger for many people with IC.
We can also help you learn ways to improve your posture at home and at work to relieve potential strain on the pelvic area.
Because chiropractic care involves an array of techniques and therapies, it can be an ideal choice for conditions that tend to evolve over time. Since IC symptoms can change over time, having routine chiropractic treatment sessions ensures your management plan stays on track with your needs as they evolve.
Our team carefully reviews your progress and your symptoms, tailoring every treatment session to provide relief and improve your quality of life. Plus, chiropractic care can be used in conjunction with medication or other traditional treatments to maximize their benefits.
Interstitial cystitis symptoms cause physical discomfort and emotional strain that can take a big toll on your quality of life. To learn how we can help, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Easy Reach Chiropractic in Lake Worth and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, today.
