An old school yoga programme, designed to improve pelvic health, could help women who suffer from urinary incontinence, according to a new study published in Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery.

UC San Fransisco (UCSF) researchers discovered that the specifically designed yoga training program can help women gain more control over their urination and avoid accidental urine leakage.

"Yoga is often directed at mindful awareness, increasing relaxation, and relieving anxiety and stress," said first author Alison Huang, MD, assistant professor in the UCSF School of Medicine.

"For these reasons, yoga has been directed at a variety of other conditions metabolic syndrome or pain syndromes but there's also a reason to think that it could help for incontinence as well."

Huang and her colleagues recruited 20 women from the Bay Area who were 40 years and older and who suffered from urinary incontinence on a daily basis.

Half were randomly assigned to take part in a six-week yoga therapy program and the other half were not.

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WHAT: A urinary tract infection (UTI) is a bacterial infection that affects the urinary tract (the organ that stores and releases urine).
HOW: UTIs occur when germs, usually bacteria, enter the urethra and then the bladder. The infection can eventually spread to the kidney. Symptoms include cloudy or bloody urine, a strong need to urinate and a low fever.
FIX IT: If you do feel any of the symptoms above, doctors can distinguish between a small infection or a kidney one -- in most cases, patients are put on antibiotics.

WHAT: A interstitial cystitis (IC) is a painful condition that causes inflammation of the bladder's walls.
HOW: Experts say an IC can be caused by a bacterial infection, however, some say the cause of this disease is unknown. Symptoms include a painful pelvis and in some cases, urinating more than 60 times a day.
FIX IT: Currently, there is no cure for IC, but there are treatments depending on the individual to often ease the pain.

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Yoga Programme To Strengthen Pelvic Floor Could Help Women With Urinary Incontinence