Keeping a child’s bladder healthy and functioning with paralysis maintains urinary health for a lifetime. A bladder program maintains the natural bladder function as well as keeping the kidneys healthy. Neurogenic bladder function is an inability of the nerves to carry messages to and from the brain and body. It is found in issues such as brain injury or spinal cord injury either from disease or trauma, spina bifida, tethered cord, vascular insults, tumors, transverse myelitis, cerebral palsy, stroke, and tumors among others.
Kidneys create urine by filtering blood. There is no room for storage of urine in the kidney, it is a processing organ. The bladder is the body organ that stores urine waiting to be excreted. Urine backing up into the kidney causes damage. Therefore, protecting the kidneys is critically important.
Bladder capacity varies by child. A formula for the general storing capacity of urine is:
In children less than two years: 2 X age (in years) + 2 = capacity (ounces)
In children two years and older: Age (years) divided by 2 + 6 = capacity (ounces)
| Bladder Sphincter Misalignment | Symptoms |
| Bladder overactive/Sphincter overactive (Diagnosed as Detrusor/Sphincter Dyssynergia) | Frequency, small volumes, incontinence, bladder elasticity loss, urine can back up into the kidneys resulting in damage, urinary tract infections. |
| Bladder overactive/Sphincter underactive | Frequency, incontinence, urine can back up into the kidneys resulting in damage |
| Bladder underactive/Sphincter overactive | Overflow incontinence (some urine is leaked but the bladder does not empty), bladder muscle becomes ineffective, urine can back up into the kidneys resulting in damage, urinary tract infections |
| Bladder underactive/Sphincter underactive | Constant incontinence, urinary tract infections |