Nerves carry messages from the bladder to the brain, letting the brain know when the bladder is full. The nerves carry messages from the brain to the muscles of the bladder telling them either to tighten or release. In a neurogenic bladder, the nerves that are supposed to carry these messages do not work properly.
Neurogenic bladder can lead to different kinds of problems.
It may result in urine leakage if the muscles holding urine in do not get the right message. For other people, a neurogenic bladder means that their muscles do not get the message that it is time to let go. If the bladder becomes too full, urine may back up into the kidneys, and the extra pressure causes damage to the tiny blood vessels in the kidney. Or urine that stays too long may lead to an infection in the bladder or ureters, which are the tubes that carry urine from the kidney to the bladder. Accidents that cause trauma to the brain or spinal cord, heavy metal poisoning, diabetes, and acute infections are among the ways nerves and nerve pathways can be damaged.