Your bladder serves a vital function by removing waste products from your body, and your spinal injury is likely to have had an effect on its ability to work well. There are a number of ways you can help ensure good bladder health.
The bladder is part of your urinary, or renal system, which consists of:
- kidneys
- ureters
- bladder
- urethra
Kidneys
Kidneys are two bean-shaped organs that sit at the back of your abdominal cavity just behind your last ribs. Kidneys filter your blood, making sure substances that are beneficial are passed into your bloodstream, and removing impurities.
Your kidneys:
- control the amount of blood flowing in your body
- regulate blood pressure
- control the production of red blood cells
- control the level of many substances in the blood, e.g. sodium (salt)
- remove waste products
- regulate the pH (acidity or alkalinity), of the blood
- assist in regulating calcium levels
Ureters
Ureters are delicate tubes between the kidneys and the bladder. They have walls that contract, allowing the urine to flow. Internal pressure and gravity also help the urine flow down into the bladder.
The ureters enter the bladder on the back wall, at a very low level. As the bladder fills, the pressure compresses the ureters and prevents backflow of urine during urination. This minimises the risk of reflux and infection.
Bladder
Your bladder is a hollow stretchable muscular organ, which sits in the pelvic cavity behind the pubic bone.
The wall of your bladder has three layers of muscle. It is lined with special tissue that allows it to stretch and change shape as it fills with urine.
The shape of your bladder changes depending on how much urine it contains. When empty it resembles a deflated balloon. As it fills it is spherical in shape, then it becomes pear shaped when full and rises into the abdominal cavity.
The detrusor muscle in your bladder contains sensors, which alert your body to the amount of urine contained in your bladder. They also assist with emptying your bladder.
Urethra
The urethra moves the urine to outside your body. If you are female, this muscular tube is short, around 4cm in length. If you are male, it is approximately 20cm long.
Urethral sphincters
You have two urethral sphincters, which differ between the male and female. These help both store and release urine from your bladder.
- The internal sphincter is a ring of smooth muscle close to the outlet or neck of the bladder
- The external urethral sphincter is a ring of skeletal muscle, which wraps around the urethra, just below the internal sphincter
