What Are the Causes of a Forward-Tilted Bladder?

A tilted bladder is a potentially serious medical condition that occurs more often in women than men. Several health conditions can cause the bladder to tilt forward in the body, with often painful symptoms that cause difficulty urinating and incontinence. Anyone experiencing pain while urinating or difficulty urinating should consult a doctor immediately.

A benign or cancerous tumor putting pressure on the bladder wall can cause the bladder to pitch forward. You might experience frequent urination, back pain and lower abdominal pain as the bladder pitches forward. These symptoms could worsen while you're standing and lessen while sitting. Men could experience difficulty urinating, similar to the symptoms of an enlarged prostate, but notice no erectile dysfunction. You will need a CT scan or some other diagnostic radiography to determine the location of the tumor and a biopsy to discover if the growth is cancerous.

In women, the bladder is supported by the wall of the vagina. During childbirth, these muscles can weaken and begin to deteriorate over time, which leads to the bladder tilting. This is a serious condition for women because it could lead to a prolapsed bladder, which is the falling of the unsupported organ through the vaginal canal and outside the body. In men, soft tissue that supports the bladder can weaken with age, causing the bladder to tilt and not completely empty. The remaining urine will ferment in the bladder, causing a burning sensation the next time it is expelled.

Bladder infections and infections of the urinary tract can cause a forward-tilting bladder if urine is blocked from leaving the organ during urination. According to the website for WebMD, this causes inflammation of the bladder that is easily treated if caught immediately, but can recur if the conditions that caused the infection, such as diet, are allowed to continue. A bladder infection can be painful, and if it goes untreated, it can quickly spread to the kidneys, causing back pain, flu-like symptoms and potential kidney failure.