Incontinence Treatment
You Deserve to Sneeze Without Thinking Twice
Expert pelvic floor therapy for women who are done planning their life around leaking — delivered to your home in Utah Valley.
The #1 Reason Women Seek Pelvic Floor PT
Does Leaking Control When You Laugh, Run, or Pick Up Your Kids?
You cross your legs before you sneeze. You wear dark leggings to the gym—just in case. You know exactly where every bathroom is at the grocery store, the park, your kids’ school. You turned down the trampoline park birthday party. You stopped running. You laugh carefully now.
You’ve probably been told this is normal after having kids. That it’s just part of getting older. That you should “just do Kegels.”
None of that is true.
Urinary incontinence is a treatable condition. Research shows that 70–80% of women see significant improvement with pelvic floor physical therapy—and many become completely leak-free. This isn’t about managing symptoms with pads and dark pants. It’s about figuring out exactly what’s causing your leaking and fixing it.
Dr. Danaya knows what leaking feels like—not just clinically, but personally. After her first baby, she developed stress incontinence during exercise. She was in PT school at the time, and within three to four sessions of pelvic floor therapy, she was symptom-free. It changed the entire direction of her career. During her third pregnancy, leaking came back hard enough to force her to stop playing volleyball. By her fourth, she applied every principle she now teaches her patients—and had her best recovery yet, essentially symptom-free.
She built this practice because most women don’t know this kind of care exists. They spend years—sometimes decades—assuming leaking is just how life works now. It doesn’t have to be.
Why Generic Advice Fails
Why Do Kegels Work for Some Women and Not Others?
Kegels work for some women and not others because there are actually three different causes of stress incontinence—and Kegels only address one of them. This is the single most important thing most women don’t know about their leaking.
The Three Causes of Stress Incontinence
- Urethral sphincter weakness — The muscle that closes your urethra isn’t strong enough to hold against sudden pressure. This is where Kegels actually help. Simple self-test: try stopping your urine flow midstream. If it takes more than one second, urethral sphincter weakness is likely contributing.
- Levator ani weakness — The hammock of muscles supporting your bladder isn’t providing enough lift. This requires different strengthening than traditional Kegels.
- Fascial defect — The connective tissue supporting the urethra has been stretched or damaged (often from childbirth). No amount of muscle strengthening will fix a structural support problem—this cause requires a different treatment approach entirely.
Here’s the part that surprises most women: if your pelvic floor is already too tight, doing more Kegels can actually make your leaking worse. Think of making a fist and then trying to squeeze harder—you can’t generate more force from a muscle that’s already clenched. A hypertonic pelvic floor needs to learn to relax before it can strengthen effectively. Learn how to tell if your pelvic floor is tight vs. weak →
And for runners, there’s another piece most women miss: running demands fast-twitch pelvic floor contractions. Your muscles need to fire about 180 times per minute at foot strike. Most women only train slow, sustained Kegel holds—which is like training for a sprint by only doing yoga. Speed and timing matter as much as strength. Find out exactly why leaking happens during a run →
That’s why “just do Kegels” fails most women. Not because Kegels are bad—but because the right treatment depends entirely on which cause is driving YOUR symptoms. Read why Kegels alone rarely solve the problem →
Tired of planning your life around leaking? Schedule a Free Consultation →
Types of Incontinence
What Kind of Leaking Are You Experiencing?
Leaking isn’t one-size-fits-all. The pattern of when and how you leak tells us a lot about what’s going on—and what will fix it.
Stress Incontinence
You leak when you cough, sneeze, laugh, jump, lift something heavy, or run. It happens because your pelvic floor can’t respond fast enough to sudden pressure. This is the most common type we treat—and one of the most successfully treatable.
Urge Incontinence
You feel a sudden, intense need to urinate and can’t always make it in time. Your bladder contracts when it shouldn’t. You might not even have a full bladder. This often has muscle tension, habit, and nervous system components beyond just the pelvic floor.
Mixed Incontinence
You experience both—leaking with activity AND sudden urgency. This is actually very common. Treatment addresses both components, because they often have different underlying causes that need different solutions.
Postpartum Leaking
Leaking that started during pregnancy or after delivery and hasn’t resolved. Whether you’re six weeks or six years postpartum, this responds well to treatment. Your body can still heal—you just need the right guidance. Learn about postpartum recovery →
If your main issue is urgency, frequency, or bladder pain rather than leaking, our bladder pain & urgency program may be a better fit.
How Physical Therapy Helps
What Does Pelvic Floor PT for Incontinence Actually Include?
Pelvic floor PT for incontinence identifies which of the three causes is behind your leaking, then uses targeted manual therapy, retraining, and progressive strengthening to restore the control you’ve lost. It’s not just exercises—it’s a whole-body approach to a problem that rarely has a single-muscle answer.
Dr. Danaya doesn’t just look at your pelvic floor in isolation. She assesses everything that attaches to and affects your pelvis—your back, your hips, your core, your breathing patterns, how you move. Many women are genuinely surprised to learn how much a weak hip, a breathing pattern, or a tight lower back is contributing to their leaking. It’s rarely just one thing.
What Treatment Includes:
- Cause Identification: Determining whether your leaking is driven by urethral sphincter weakness, levator ani weakness, fascial defect, or muscle tension—because each one needs a different approach
- Pelvic Floor Retraining: Teaching your muscles to activate at the right time, with the right speed, in the right sequence—not just squeezing harder
- Manual Therapy: Hands-on treatment to release tension, improve tissue mobility, and address areas of restriction or overactivity
- Core & Hip Integration: Rebuilding the support system around your pelvis so your pelvic floor isn’t working alone
- Breathing & Pressure Management: Learning to use your breath to support—not overwhelm—your pelvic floor during activities
- Bladder Retraining: For urge incontinence, strategies to retrain bladder signals and break urgency cycles
- Return to Activity: Progressive plan to safely return to running, jumping, lifting, and whatever you’ve been avoiding
What Waiting Actually Costs
Most women manage leaking for years before seeking treatment. Here’s what that costs:
- Financial: Incontinence pads, specialty underwear, and eventual surgical procedures add up—often thousands of dollars over time
- Physical: When exercise is painful or embarrassing, women stop moving—increasing risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis
- Emotional: Disconnection from your partner, avoiding social gatherings, giving up activities with your kids, loss of identity and confidence
PT resolves the problem. Pads manage it. The longer you manage, the harder—and more expensive—it becomes to fix. Read why women wait years for help—and why you don’t have to →
Success Rates
Research shows 70–80% of women with stress incontinence see significant improvement with pelvic floor PT. Many become completely leak-free. Most patients notice improvement within 6–10 sessions. Some see changes as early as 3–4 sessions. Consistency with home exercises between appointments accelerates progress.
What to Expect
What Happens at Your First Incontinence PT Visit?
Your first visit is a dedicated 60-minute evaluation where Dr. Danaya personally reviews your history, assesses your entire body, and determines exactly which of the three causes is behind your leaking.
If you’ve never seen a pelvic floor PT before, it’s normal to feel nervous. You might not know what to expect, or you might be worried about the internal assessment, or you might just be tired of explaining your symptoms to another provider who doesn’t really listen. Here’s what it actually looks like.
You start by telling your story. Not filling out a clipboard and handing it to a front desk. Dr. Danaya sits with you and listens—how long you’ve been dealing with leaking, what you’ve already tried, what triggers it, and what you want to get back to. Your goals drive the entire treatment plan. If your goal is to run a half marathon without leaking, that’s where you’re headed. If it’s just to sneeze without crossing your legs, that matters just as much.
Then she looks at the whole picture. Your posture, how you breathe, your core, your hips, how you move. Many women are genuinely surprised to learn how much their back, their breathing pattern, or a weak hip is contributing to their leaking.
The pelvic floor assessment tells you exactly what’s going on. This is where Dr. Danaya figures out which of the three causes is behind your symptoms—and it changes everything about how your treatment is designed. She checks muscle strength, coordination, tone, and whether your muscles are firing when they should and relaxing when they should. Everything is explained before it happens. The internal exam is always optional. You can stop at any time. You are always in charge.
You leave with answers, not just a follow-up appointment. Dr. Danaya explains what she found, what it means in plain language, and what the plan is. Most patients receive their first hands-on treatment during this visit and go home with exercises they can start immediately.
Follow-up sessions are also 60 minutes—manual therapy, targeted exercises, education, and progressive loading toward whatever activity you’ve been avoiding. This isn’t a rushed 20-minute insurance visit where you’re handed off to an aide. It’s an hour of focused, one-on-one care with your specialist, every single time.
And it all happens in your home. Dr. Danaya brings everything—treatment table, equipment, supplies. No arranging childcare, no waiting rooms, no loading everyone in the car. Especially if you’re postpartum or managing pain, this makes getting care feel possible instead of like one more thing on the list. Learn more about what to expect at your visits →
Your Specialist
Why Dr. Danaya Understands Incontinence
Dr. Danaya Kauwe is a Doctor of Physical Therapy with a Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification (PRPC)—requiring over 2,000 hours of direct pelvic patient care and a rigorous proctored exam. She is a former NCAA Division I track and field athlete who has experienced stress incontinence herself—and resolved it with the same approach she now uses with her patients.
After her first baby, she developed stress incontinence during exercise and urinary urgency. She was symptom-free in three to four sessions. During her third pregnancy, leaking returned and forced her to stop playing volleyball entirely. By her fourth, she applied every principle she teaches—and had her best recovery, essentially symptom-free. Each pregnancy was different. Each recovery taught her something new.
That lived experience shapes her clinical work. She doesn’t just understand incontinence from textbooks and research—she knows what it feels like to cross your legs before a sneeze, to avoid the trampoline, to wonder if your body will ever work the way it used to.
Her approach isn’t about “bouncing back.” It’s about moving forward—with a body you trust, doing the things that matter to you.
Patient Stories
What Does Getting Better Actually Look Like?
One of Dr. Danaya’s patients described feeling like a shadow of herself. She couldn’t exercise. She couldn’t keep up with her kids. She was afraid she’d never feel like herself again. Her goal was to hike Mount Timpanogos without symptoms.
After months of dedicated work together—rebuilding her pelvic floor, her core, and her confidence—she hiked it. Twice. No leaking. Not even sore. She was glowing.
That feeling—that radiance when a woman reaches her goals—is what this practice is named after.
“I’m a mother of two and ever since my first pregnancy I’d experienced leaking when coughing (don’t get me started on what running did to me). Danaya gave me some exercises to not only strengthen my pelvic floor, but also my core and glutes. I don’t have to cross my legs when I sneeze now! She doesn’t just slap a bandaid on the issue and call it a day. She asks questions and tries to discover what the root of the problem is to create lasting results.”
— Tabitha M. — Postpartum Incontinence
*Verified Google review for Radiant Pelvic Health & Wellness. Patient stories are shared with permission and details changed to protect privacy.
Common Questions
What You Need to Know
I've had incontinence for years. Is it too late for PT to help?
No. The pelvic floor responds to training at any age. Dr. Danaya has successfully treated women in their 20s, 40s, 60s, and beyond—including women who lived with leaking for over a decade before seeking help. It’s never too late.
I've tried Kegels and they didn't work. What makes PT different?
There are three different causes of stress incontinence—urethral sphincter weakness, levator ani weakness, and fascial defect—and each requires different treatment. Kegels only address one of those causes. If your pelvic floor is already too tight, Kegels can actually make things worse. PT starts by figuring out which cause is driving YOUR leaking, then treats accordingly.
Will I be able to run without leaking again?
Very likely, yes. Running demands fast-twitch pelvic floor contractions—your muscles need to fire about 180 times per minute at foot strike. Most women only train slow, sustained Kegels. Dr. Danaya trains speed, timing, and impact readiness so your pelvic floor can keep up with your stride. As a former NCAA Division I track athlete, she understands running biomechanics personally.
Can Kegels actually make incontinence worse?
Yes, if your pelvic floor is hypertonic (too tight). Think of making a fist and then trying to grip harder—you can’t generate more force from a muscle that’s already clenched. A tight pelvic floor needs to learn to relax before it can strengthen. That’s why assessment matters before exercises. Learn how to tell if your pelvic floor is tight vs. weak →
What happens during pelvic floor PT for incontinence?
Your first visit is a dedicated 60-minute evaluation. Dr. Danaya listens to your story, assesses your whole body (posture, breathing, core, hips), and evaluates your pelvic floor function to determine which of the three causes is behind your leaking. You leave with a clear diagnosis, a treatment plan, and exercises to start immediately. The internal exam is always optional—you are always in charge.
Do I need surgery, or should I try PT first?
Clinical guidelines recommend trying pelvic floor PT before considering surgery for incontinence. PT is non-invasive, has no side effects, and research shows 70–80% of women see significant improvement. If PT doesn’t fully resolve your symptoms, surgery remains an option—but many women avoid it entirely.
How long will it take to see results?
Most women notice some improvement within 4–6 sessions. Significant reduction in leaking typically occurs around 8–10 sessions. Full resolution may take 12–15 sessions, depending on severity, which of the three causes is involved, and consistency with home exercises.
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Ready to Stop Planning Around Leaking?
Schedule Your Free Consultation
Dr. Danaya personally listens to your story, figures out which of the three causes is behind YOUR leaking, and explains exactly how to fix it — no pressure, no commitment.
Or call/text: (385) 204-4135
In-home pelvic floor physical therapy throughout Utah Valley