Can I Treat Incontinence Without Surgery?
Urinary incontinence—the involuntary loss of bladder control—is far more common than most people realize. If you leak when you sneeze, cough, laugh, run, or even just walk to the bathroom, you are far from alone. An estimated 78 million women in the U.S. across all ages experiences some form of bladder leakage, yet up to 75% or more never seek treatment often because they believe it’s normal or that surgery is their only option.
The good news? That’s not true. While very common, leaking is not normal and there are effective, research-backed, non-surgical treatments that can help you stop leaks, strengthen your pelvic floor, and regain control, often without any downtime.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- The different types of urinary incontinence.
- Why surgery is usually the last resort.
- Proven non-surgical treatment options, including Flyte at-home pelvic floor treatment.
- How to decide which treatment is right for you.
- When surgery might be considered.
Defining Incontinence
Urinary incontinence simply means the loss of bladder control. According to Yale Medicine, it can range from occasional leaks to frequent, large-volume loss of urine. While it can happen to anyone, women have double the rate of urinary incontinence compared to men, due to pregnancy, childbirth, hormonal changes, and pelvic floor differences.
Types of Urinary Incontinence
o Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI)
Leaks occur during physical movement or activity—such as coughing, sneezing, laughing, running, or lifting—because the pelvic floor is unable to maintain control when faced with an increase of pressure on the bladder.
o Urgency Urinary Incontinence (UUI)
A sudden, strong urge to urinate is followed by involuntary leakage. This is often linked to overactive bladder (OAB).
o Mixed Urinary Incontinence (MUI)
A combination of stress and urge symptoms.
o Overflow Incontinence
The bladder doesn’t empty fully, often due to blockage, nerve damage, or bladder muscle weakness. Because the bladder stays too full, urine leaks out in small amounts without warning.
o Functional Incontinence
Physical or cognitive impairments prevent timely bathroom use.
If you’ve ever wondered “Why do I leak when I sneeze?” or “Why do I pee when I run?”, the answer usually comes back to these types—especially stress incontinence.
Take our FREE Incontinence Quiz to find out your type of incontinence and get treatment options on what you can do about it.
Do I Need Surgery for My Incontinence?
In most cases, no—surgery is not the first step. Incontinence surgery is typically considered when:
- Non-surgical and conservative treatments haven’t worked.
- Symptoms are severe and impact daily life.
- There are no contraindications to surgery.
- The patient fully understands the risks, benefits, and recovery involved.
Common Surgical and Invasive Options
- Stress Urinary Incontinence
- Sling surgery: Places a mesh sling under the urethra to provide support. The mid-urethral sling is considered the gold standard surgery for stress incontinence.
- Bladder neck suspension surgery: Lifts and secures the bladder neck and urethra.
- Urethral bulking agents: A less invasive option than surgery. Injection of bulking agents around urethra to tighten the bladder neck and reduce urinary leakage.
- Urgency Urinary Incontinence and OAB
- Botox injections: Botox can be an effective treatment option for bladder muscle spasms to reduce urgency, frequency, and urinary incontinence.
- Sacral nerve stimulation: An implanted device in your spine designed to control the nerve impulses to your bladder to improve bladder control.
- Mixed Urinary Incontinence: Can use a mix of the techniques listed for SUI, UUI, and OAB.
- Overflow Incontinence: Often managed naturally like other types of UI with lifestyle changes. A surgeon may need to operate if it is determined there is a blockage. Sacral stimulation can also be considered.
- Functional Incontinence: The physical or cognitive impairment is addressed to improve ability to make it to the bathroom in a timely manner.
While these surgeries and invasive techniques can be effective, they carry risks like infection, mesh complications, pain or difficulty urinating, and the possibility of persistent or recurring leakage.
The decision to have surgery should be based on your quality of life and only after exhausting other options.
Take our FREE Incontinence Quiz to discover your type of incontinence and learn the treatment options that can help without surgery. (Note: This Quiz is only intended to identify SUI, UUI, and MUI.)
The Non-Surgical Solutions for Incontinence
You have more choices than you might think — many of which can be started at home.
1. Lifestyle Changes
Small adjustments can make a big difference for all types of urinary incontinence:
- Maintain a healthy weight: Extra weight puts pressure on your bladder and pelvic floor.
- Limit bladder irritants: Caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, citrus, and artificial sweeteners can make leakage worse. Read more: Sip smarter by learning to manage these 4 bladder irritants.
- Quit smoking: Chronic coughing from smoking can stress the pelvic floor and cause incontinence.
- Timed voiding/bladder training: Gradually increase the time between bathroom visits to improve bladder capacity and control. Normal intervals are 2-4 hours between voids. You can check out Your Guide to Urinary Incontinence for more information.
2. Pelvic Floor Therapy
A licensed and trained pelvic floor therapist can teach you how to properly contract and relax your pelvic floor muscles along with the appropriate treatment options based on your symptoms. Many women are surprised to learn they’ve been doing Kegels incorrectly. Pelvic floor therapy includes:
- Often given a bladder diary to return for analysis.
- One-on-one guided exercises.
- Feedback to ensure correct muscle activation.
- Education and treatments to address posture, breathing, body mechanics, and more.
3. Medications
For urge incontinence, your provider might recommend medications that calm the bladder muscles. However, these can cause side effects like dry mouth, constipation, increased blood pressure, and falls. They’re generally considered only after lifestyle and pelvic floor therapy.
There are currently no FDA-approved medications in the U.S. to treat stress incontinence.
4. At-Home Treatment Devices
For women looking for surgical-level treatment results from home, Flyte is a groundbreaking treatment solution for incontinence.
What is Flyte?
Flyte is a small, easy-to-use intravaginal medical device that delivers transvaginal mechanotherapy to activate and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.
Flyte is FDA-cleared, clinically proven, and created by pelvic floor experts to restore bladder control in just 5 minutes a day. Developed in collaboration with physicians and researchers from the Arctic University of Norway, Flyte uses mechanotherapy—a novel approach that activates the body’s natural healing response to strengthen pelvic floor muscles for fast, lasting results.
Flyte is non-invasive, easy to use at home, and clinically proven to deliver lasting results.
Is Flyte right for you? Ask one of Flyte’s on-staff pelvic floor physical therapists with a free call – schedule today!
Why Flyte Works:
- Clinically proven to provide surgical-level results for stress urinary incontinence.
- Only 5 minutes a day for 6 weeks.
- No downtime, no surgery, no office visits, no medications.
A 2018 published clinical study showed that 82% of women who used Flyte achieved continence in just 6 weeks and 77%% maintained their results two years later.
Download information about Flyte for my healthcare provider
Which Incontinence Treatment is Right for You?
Choosing the right approach depends on:
- Symptom severity: Occasional leaks vs. frequent, large-volume leakage.
- Lifestyle: High-impact sports, travel schedule, or sedentary work.
- Personal preference: Willingness to use an internal device, take medication, attend in-person therapy, or desire to avoid surgery.
- Time commitment: How much daily or weekly time you can dedicate to treatment.
Pro tip: Make a pros and cons list for each option and bring it to your next doctor’s appointment.
When to Consider Surgery
If you’ve tried multiple non-surgical approaches consistently and still have bothersome leakage, surgery may be an option. Signs it might be time to consider surgery include:
- Leakage interferes with work, exercise, or social activities and you have tried conservative treatment options without success.
- You’ve lost confidence in daily activities and conservative treatment options have not helped.
- You are done having children. Your provider may hold off on surgery until you are done having children.
- Your pelvic health provider agrees that surgery could address the problem after exhausting non-surgical options and discussing the risks and benefits of surgery.
Thinking about surgery but haven’t tried Flyte? Schedule a free call with one of our on-staff pelvic floor physical therapists and get expert guidance today.
FAQ: Can I Treat Stress Incontinence at Home?
Yes. At-home treatments like pelvic floor exercises, bladder training, and devices such as Flyte can be highly effective. The key is consistency and correct technique. Flyte has been FDA-cleared to treat mild, moderate, and severe stress incontinence with results comparable to surgery.
FAQ: Is Using Flyte Better Than Surgery?
In two published clinical trials, Flyte has been shown to have results comparable to surgery in a safe, non-surgical solution, directly from the comfort of your own home. Results are often seen in as little as 2 weeks, 82% continence in just 6 weeks, and results are sustained over a two-year follow-up.
FAQ: How Long Before I See Results with Flyte?
It varies. Depending on the treatment you choose, some women notice improvement in just a few weeks of consistent treatment, while others need several months. With Flyte, there is 82% continence rate in a 6-week program using 5-minutes per day, and some women see results in as little as 2 weeks. Others may benefit from 12 weeks.
FAQ: Will My Incontinence Get Worse If I Do Nothing?
It might. Without treatment, pelvic floor weakness can progress, especially after menopause when estrogen levels drop. Taking action early gives you the best chance for lasting improvement.
Published research found 37% of women in their 20s experience urinary incontinence compared to 83% of women in their 70s—showing a definite trend that incontinence does not get better with age.
Take Back Your Power with Your Options
You deserve to feel confident, active, and in control of your bladder—without automatically jumping to surgery. Non-surgical solutions, from lifestyle changes to at-home treatment options like Flyte, can give you back your freedom and quality of life.
Next step: Take Flyte’s free 1-minute quiz to find out your incontinence type and get actionable next-step recommendations.
References
Patel UJ, Godecker AL, Giles DL, Brown HW. Updated Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in Women: 2015-2018 National Population-Based Survey Data. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg. 2022 Apr 1;28(4):181-187. doi: 10.1097/SPV.0000000000001127. Epub 2022 Jan 12. PMID: 35030139.
Urinary Incontinence in Women > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine
Types of urinary incontinence - Harvard Health
Surgery for stress urinary incontinence in women - Mayo Clinic
Navigating Urinary Incontinence: When is Surgery the Right Choice?