The Effect of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms on Quality of Life and Complementary Therapies for Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis patients face many physiological, psychological, and social problems depending on the type and course of the disease. One of the physiological problems is lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Problems such as urinary incontinence, frequent urination, sudden urination, inability to urinate, inability to empty the bladder completely affect the daily life of the patients. These patients may avoid social interaction because of frequent urination and incontinence. Patients with multiple sclerosis refrain from shopping, meeting with friends, and other social activities due to urinary problems. In addition, they also restrict their fluid intake because they urinate frequently. Urinary tract infections associated with low fluid intake and inability to urinate are more common in multiple sclerosis patients than in the normal population. These problems restrict the patient’s life and negatively affect their quality of life. These complaints can be minimized by bladder training, pelvic floor muscle exercises, nerve stimulation, or use of urinary catheter in order to eliminate these problems and improve the quality of life of the patients. While bladder training prolongs the urination intervals of patients, pelvic floor muscle exercises reduce urinary incontinence by strengthening the muscles. Neuromodulation reduces these problems by suppressing nerve impulses. Catheters are important for patients who cannot urinate or have urinary incontinence. Urinary incontinence, retention, and urinary infection can be reduced by using catheters.