Interstitial Cystis: AKA “IC”

Interstitial Cystis: AKA “IC” is defined as bladder and/or pelvic pain that can increase with the sensation to urinate. It can sometimes be caused by ulcers in the bladder lining that can cause pain, but oftentimes there are no ulcers present. In fact, research has found that some people who do have ulcers have no pain at all! So why is there bladder pain when there is nothing wrong with the bladder itself? The answer is we don’t really know. Pain with the bladder is very complex and there isn’t much clarity on what exactly is causing the pain. Modern chronic pain science has helped us understand that this bladder pain can be from a centralization of pain in the pelvis.

Centralization of pain is from inflammation in the nervous system tissues, creating muddled signals from the body to the brain which results in a complex, often indescribable, perception of pain.  As a result, the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) can become ‘overactive’ where the muscles may become rather tense because these wonderful muscles are just trying to protect your pelvis from this painful sensation. This can result in urinary urgency, urinary frequency, and even burning/painful urination. Pelvic Floor Therapy (PFT) can help by assessing the PFMs and help retrain these muscles to react appropriately; retraining the bladder is also possible with simple habit changes and urinary techniques so you won’t have to urinate as frequently and also decrease that urgency. PFT will also help with desensitizing the central nervous system, addressing the inflamed nervous system tissues, and clear up those muddled signals causing this pain. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can also be an integral approach to helping with rewiring our mind and body connection to further clear those muddled signals. So, if you’ve been diagnosed with IC or bladder pain: have no fear, the Vagician is here!