Having my second, large baby at age 42 left me less than watertight, and I turned to a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for pelvic floor device to strengthen my pelvic floor. I know how important pelvic floor exercises like Kegels can be, and it sounded so easy when the physiotherapist told me to do six sets of ten slow and ten fast repetitions after my baby was born. “Of course,” I said with a reassured smile, thinking that, with a black belt in karate, I certainly have what it takes to do a few simple pelvic floor exercise every day.
Well, apparently I don’t, because I kept getting distracted, bored, or was just plain lazy. Even though I did what felt like an awful lot of exercises, it clearly wasn’t enough, which became very evident when I got a bad cold, leaking with every coughing bout.
However, being no stranger to battery-powered gadgets for that region, I liked the idea of an NMES for pelvic floor health doing all the hard work for me. I know that in many European countries using these is part of the standard treatment. For example, in France every woman who gives birth is prescribed pelvic floor physiotherapy, including electrotherapy sessions. In Germany, it’s the first line of treatment for urinary incontinence and has been shown to be very effective with few side effects. Even though it’s less widely used in the UK, where I live, I suggested it to my physiotherapist, who showed me how to use it.
These devices—such as the NeuroTrac PelviTone or the K-Fit Kegel Toner—consist of a hand-held monitor and a vaginal probe, through which the device sends a mild electrical current that makes the pelvic floor contract. I am never one for reading manuals, but as I was about to put electrical currents through my vagina I read every word of it. Twice.
The probe is made out of plastic, has two metal surfaces on either side, and is about the size of a large tampon. To insert it, I lay down, propping up my shoulders on some pillows, and placed it like a tampon, but not as deep; the probe needs to be entirely inside, with the neck of the probe just sitting at the entrance of the vagina. The manual suggests using lubricant, but I found that I didn’t need it.
I then connected the probe to the monitor and chose one of the pre-set programs for stress incontinence. On the NeuroTrac PelviTone, there are 11 pre-set programs, which can be selected via the P button. These include two for stress incontinence, two pelvic floor workouts, three programs for frequency urge, and one each for pelvic floor pain, urge incontinence, lack of sensitivity, and pelvic floor relaxation.
Finally I had to set the milliamp charge. Feeling very curious and a bit nervous, I cautiously pressed the + button to increase the charge to 1, then 2. Nothing. I went up to 3, 4, 5, then 8, 9, 10, but still nothing. So I took the probe out to test it with my thumb and index finger. At 8, I felt such a strong and unpleasant current in my hand that I didn’t just drop it, but threw it. Apparently that’s normal—it turns out that our vaginas can take a lot more than our fingers.
I tried again. At 20 I could start to feel a mild tingling. At 30, it was making my pelvic floor muscles contract. At 40 it got painful, so I settled in the high thirties, where I got strong intermittent contractions lasting a few seconds, but no pain.
Most programs last 20 minutes, so I usually did one or two sessions a day for the next six months, either while watching TV or working on my laptop, propped up in bed. After a few minutes, I always forgot about it. Over time, I could increase the milliamps to the high forties without feeling pain.
Using the NMES for pelvic floor health really helped strengthen my pelvic floor. Not only could I feel it myself, but I had it confirmed by a doctor and a physiotherapist, who both said that my pelvic floor was in good shape (considering my age and two vaginal deliveries). I’ve had far fewer leaks since starting to use the device, but it didn’t eliminate them entirely.
After doing quite a bit of research, I realized that my transverse abdominal muscles had also really suffered during pregnancy. They hold the internal organs (including the bladder) in place, so I had to strengthen and re-educate these as well in order to overcome my UI issues, which I eventually did. Interestingly, both in France and in Germany, all women are prescribed physiotherapy to rehabilitate their stomach muscles after giving birth. It seems other countries are a lot more on the ball when it comes to helping new mothers recover.
I know that I will have to keep up the exercises. Currently, I’m using the NMES for pelvic floor health about three times a week (which I plan on replacing eventually with Kegels), and I spend a lot of time pulling my belly button in and lifting my pelvic floor to engage my transverse abdominals. Staying watertight still requires a lot of focus, but for me it’s absolutely worth it. You can get the K-Fit Kegel Toner in the US for around $160 and the NeutroTrac PelviTone for around £100 in the UK, which for me was money well spent, especially considering the money I had spent on physiotherapists. It made a huge difference for me, and I very happily recommend trying it under the supervision of a trained physiotherapist.
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