LADIES! New Year – New leak-free you!
iMEDicare discuss the enormous prevalence of bladder heath issues in women and the social embarrassment and disruption to normal life it causes.
We demystify the language and the concepts – and discuss standard bladder health measures whilst encouraging you to take action and seek effective treatment and management measures - especially in light of MESH surgery suspension.
Background
Urinary incontinence is defined by the International Continence Society as “a condition in which involuntary loss of urine is a social or hygienic problem and is objectively demonstrable.”
Urinary incontinence is more common in women than in men and affects women of all ages. Prevalence rates in women between 15 and 64 years of age vary from 10% to 30%.
Although only a quarter of all women with this problem seek help, urinary incontinence is a socially embarrassing condition, causing withdrawal from social situations and reduced quality of life.
The most common type of urinary incontinence in women is stress incontinence, defined as the involuntary loss of urine during coughing, sneezing, or physical exertion such as sporting activities or sudden change in position.
Genuine stress incontinence is uro-dynamically proved involuntary loss of urine when the intravesical pressure exceeds that of the urethra with no simultaneous detrusor contraction. Risk factors for genuine stress incontinence are inherently weak connective tissue, vaginal delivery, obesity, strenuous work, and old age.
Genuine stress incontinence may lead to withdrawal from regular physical and fitness activities. This withdrawal may be a threat to women's general health and wellbeing as regular moderate physical activity is important in the prevention of osteoporosis, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, depression, and anxiety.
In 1948 Arnold Kegel reported a cure rate of 84% after training of the pelvic floor muscles for women with various types of incontinence. Surgery soon became the first choice of treatment, however, and not until the 1980s was there renewed interest in physical therapies. This renewed interest for conservative treatment may be because of higher awareness among women and cost of and morbidity after surgery. Physical therapies to treat genuine stress incontinence include pelvic floor exercises with or without biofeedback, electrical stimulation, and weighted vaginal cones. Pelvic floor exercise is known to be an effective treatment for genuine stress incontinence,
Tightening and relaxing the muscles that hold urine in the bladder and hold the bladder in its proper position. These exercises can improve a person's ability to hold in urine. The aim of exercising the pelvic floor is to improve both the strength, but also, more importantly, the resting tone of these muscles. Think of this as the stamina or quality of a muscle and it’s ability to do work through time without you even thinking about it. So a healthy pelvic floor muscle and internal and urethral sphincter muscle can prevent urine leakage and lift up and support your pelvic organs even without you thinking about it. The NHS recommends 3 sets of exercises per day : 10 slow contractions (each held for 10 seconds) and 10 quick contractions in sequence.
Suspension of MESH July 2018 - Vaginal mesh surgery to treat stress urinary incontinence is to be immediately suspended in England.
The government has accepted the recommendation of a review into the safety of the medical devices, which called for a pause in the use of vaginal mesh implants until a set of conditions is met.
The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review is yet to announce its terms of reference, but its chairwoman, Baroness Julia Cumberlege, came to the decision after gathering initial evidence from women and their families affected by surgical mesh procedures.
Creates opportunities for conservative non-invasive management and treatment solutions
Starting the Conversation
Ladies, let’s break the silence. Incontinence is common, but it is not normal. There are simple, low-cost, real-time, non-surgical solutions that women need to know about.
For starters, many don’t understand the meaning of the word “incontinence”. Let’s demystify the medical jargon. Stress incontinence is a small “spurt” of urine that occurs when you cough, laugh, sneeze or do physical activity (such as running). Urge incontinence (also known as overactive bladder syndrome) is the sudden loss of bladder control just after an overwhelming urge to go pee. Mixed incontinence is when women suffer from both.
Runners:
Being fit and looking great has never been more popular! What better time than the New Year to dust off the trainers and hit the local Body Pump or Cross-fit Class / or simply pound the streets with a revitalising morning run!
Runners beware ! Emerging research has suggested that high-impact exercise is closely linked with incidence of urinary leakage (Almousa et al, 2015). High-impact exercise is increasing in popularity amongst women in the United Kingdom (Sport England, 2015) – which is fantastic for your general fitness and well being, however a study of 230 athletes aged 19-40 found that 58% had Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) (Da Roza et al, 2011). Runners carried the highest prevalence of SUI. The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recognizes the significance of pelvic floor strength in urinary incontinence. NICE cite pelvic floor muscle training as the ‘first-line treatment’ for women with SUI (NICE, 2015). Empirical evidence has linked the strength of the pelvic floor to urinary incontinence symptoms (Dumoulin et al, 2014). The physiology of high impact stress incontinence is complex, and it while the future may hold more targeted treatments, the majority of women experience symptom relief through pelvic floor strengthening. It is therefore justifiable to assume that the cause of SUI in high-impact athletes is at least in part their pelvic floor.
Pregnancy
Are you struggling with a leaky pelvic floor during pregnancy or following childbirth? Well, you’re not alone!
It’s not only pregnant women and mums who suffer with this embarrassing ailment – incontinence affects one in three women at some point in their lives and half of all athletes. In fact, Up to 14 million British women leak when they cough or laugh vigorously, or move energetically.
Stress incontinence is very common in new mums because of the hormone and postural changes that pregnancy brings.
The best way to prevent and treat a weak pelvic floor is with daily targeted pelvic floor exercise, and there's a whole host of products that can assist you. The important point is correct technique and then persistence. It will take a few weeks, sometimes months to achieve a leak free pelvic floor!
Find your Buzz and stop those annoying leaks with Vibrance!
Vibrance is a ground-breaking, at-home system – Vibrance Therapy – is literally changing lives!
The best way to prevent and treat a weak pelvic floor is with daily targeted pelvic floor exercise, and there's a whole host of products that can assist you. The important point is correct technique and then persistence. It will take a few weeks, sometimes months to achieve a leak free pelvic floor!
Vibrance is medical grade vaginal probe that acts as a vibration feedback kegel educator device. The probe vibrates when you contract your pelvic floor muscles correctly. A beeping system tells you when to contract and for how long – and the gentle vibration means you are spot on with technique! So you can see results faster than struggling along with poor technique with just one or two simple 5 minute routines per day. Resistance sleeves add difficulty and keep you motivated to achieve a leak free lifestyle – sooner rather than later!
Vibrance (£140.83 net of VAT) is now available from iMEDicare Ltd to buy online from this site, or you can call us on 01923237795. You can also visit our dedicated site, www.vibrancepelvictrainer.co.uk for more information.
Go find your BUZZ and make the need for unsexy, unsightly and ultimately costly 'coping' mechanisms a thing of the past.
Bladder Management - Uresta
Pessaries are another great tool for managing incontinence. Until now, all pessaries had to be fitted and inserted by a medical professional. A self-fitting pessary, specifically for stress incontinence, was recently launched. The uresta® pessary is designed for comfort, safety and ease of use. It can be used all day or only for the activities that cause leaks. It doesn’t require a doctor’s prescription, and can be a safe, low-cost solution for women who don’t respond to exercise or who can’t access a pelvic health physiotherapist. Self inserted as needed with a one year warranty!
External NMES – INNOVO
INNOVO® is the only non-invasive pelvic floor exerciser that treats the root cause of bladder weakness – your weak pelvic floor, rather than just managing the symptoms. INNOVO®'s Multipath technology comfortably, safely & effortlessly strengthens the entire network of pelvic floor muscles via pain-free muscle stimulation, and treats Stress, Urge and Mixed Incontinence in both women and men.
The new INNOVO® Shorts are super simple to use, and are the only non-invasive solution that you can use in the comfort of your home. Best of all, INNOVO® is clinically proven to work, with results in as little as 4 weeks!*
A weak bladder is fixable. So rather than choosing a lifetime of pads, choose to enjoy life more. Take back control with INNOVO®!
- 93% of users saw a significant improvement after 4 weeks.
- 86% of users were defined as dry or near dry after 12 weeks.
- 90% of users would recommend the therapy to others.
Wearever Washable incontinence underwear
Stylish briefs and maxi-pant underwear options with absorption up to 650 mls with 200 washes – better value and better for the environment than disposable pads. Buy 6 and get the 7th free!
Listen to iMEDicare Managing Director Darren Breen talking about Wearever on Sunrise Radio:
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Listen to iMEDicare Managing Director Darren Breen talking about Wearever on Sunrise Radio:
