Fix your Overactive Bladder: How Osteopathy may help

Do you have an overactive bladder (OAB)?

• Racing to the toilet with an urge you can’t ignore?

• Planning your day around bathroom stops?

• Waking multiple times at night just to pee?

If this is you, you’re not alone! More than 10% of people have an overactive bladder (OAB).

An overactive bladder can feel exhausting and isolating, but there are many ways to treat it. With the right support and a whole-person approach it is possible to calm your bladder, regain control, and get your confidence back.

We are pelvic health Osteopaths and we provide Osteopathy for overactive bladder

What Is an Overactive Bladder?

OAB isn’t just about going “too often.” It’s a condition where the bladder tells your brain that you need to go NOW—even though it’s not full. This can lead to frequent trips to the bathroom, night-time waking, and sometimes leakage. With OAB, it’s often not caused by something obvious on a scan.

Pelvic health osteopaths can help you work out strategies to reduce your OAB

What happens to your bladder in OAB?

To understand why OAB occurs, let’s first look at how things work when everything is functioning well.

When your bladder fills, the bladder wall (detrusor muscle) stays relaxed while your pelvic floor muscles gently contract, helping you hold urine without leaks. Once your bladder reaches capacity, a signal travels to the brain where a decision is made—“Is it the right time to go?” If yes, the bladder contracts, the pelvic floor relaxes, and you empty your bladder with ease.

With OAB, this finely tuned system becomes disrupted. Instead of waiting until the bladder is full, the signals become confused, and the bladder contracts too early—creating a sudden, strong urge that is hard to ignore.

What causes OAB?

There’s rarely one simple cause. For some, symptoms start after pregnancy, surgery, or trauma. For others, it’s a gradual shift linked to hormonal changes, pelvic floor tension, or even chronic stress.

Common contributors include:

• Pelvic floor dysfunction (tight or weak muscles)

• Chronic constipation

• Hormonal shifts (menopause or postpartum)

• Fibroids or prolapse

• Stress and anxiety

• Nerve irritation

• Poorly managed diabetes

How can Osteopathy Help an OAB?

Your story is unique, and so is our approach. Osteopathy for Pelvic Health and Overactive bladder management is about addressing the root cause, not just the symptoms.

Here’s what a treatment session will typically include:

1. Whole-Body Osteopathic Assessment: We explore the bigger picture—spine, pelvis, diaphragm, nervous system, and breathing patterns—because your bladder doesn’t work in isolation.

2. A Bladder diary: A bladder diary is an amazing tool that can help us identify likely causes of your OAB and can help to direct our management / lifestyle advice

3. Pelvic Floor Assessment (Optional & Always Your Choice): An internal vaginal assessment may be helpful for some people. This type of assessment and treatment is always optional and will only be used if you feel comfortable. An internal assessment and treatment may be used to:

   1. Diagnose any muscle tension or muscle weakness and identify muscle coordination issues of your pelvic floor

   2. Internally release any myofascial tension in the pelvic floor muscles

   3. Assess for factors that may affect OAB eg prolapse, constipation or a tight pelvic floor

   4. Learn breath-assisted relaxation techniques for the pelvic floor muscles

4. Personalised stretches & Breathwork: If your pelvic floor is overactive, we teach calming strategies and mobility work. If it’s weak, we guide you through strengthening and coordination drills—always tailored to your body.

5. Lifestyle Management & Education: Simple shifts can make a big difference:

   1. Fluid intake and fluid timing

   2. Bladder retraining

   3. Stress and sleep strategies

   4. Bowel health (because constipation and OAB often go hand in hand)

6. A team approach: OAB can be complicated. Sometimes further investigations or referral to a GP or other practitioner is required. We’re happy to work with your wider care team or help you develop your care team depending on your needs.

If you need advanced support, our Osteopath Elizabeth Johns is also trained in Transcutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (TTNS). TTNS is a research-backed, non-invasive therapy that uses a small TENS device near the ankle to calm bladder signals and increase bladder capacity. Safe, effective, and easy to use at home.

Are you Ready to Take Control of Your Bladder Health?

We’re here to support you in managing your overactive bladder with a whole-person approach. Our care goes beyond symptom relief—it’s about helping you understand why you’ve got symptoms and how to support your body to manage or fix them.

Book an appointment or reach out to us if you have more questions.

Disclaimer: This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, osteopathy, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no practitioner/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this blog or materials linked from this blog is at the user's own risk. The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.