Imagine the scene – a gaggle of mums sitting around a table in a restaurant when they suddenly all burst out laughing, sorry, make that shrieking. Every one of them nodding in agreement and clapping their hands in recognition. Do you know what caused this outburst and show of solidarity? Stress Incontinence.

Picture thanks to Joe Jukes @ Flickr.com

Celebrating a friend’s 40th in a local restaurant our puds safely in our tums our talk turned to wee – and it wasn’t kid’s wee either! All five of us admitted to at some time having had a bit of a ‘wee escape-moment’ when we laughed, sneezed or went on the kids’ trampoline. We are all mums but in fairness to motherhood I don’t think all of these wee little wee incidents were only caused by childbirth as I seem to recall, back in the day, it happening during some vigorous jumping to Blur’s Song 2. We all admitted however, that since becoming mums and getting older, things in that ‘department’ were not improving.

Fact: 20% of women over 40 experience embarrassing leaks, and over half of all women experience stress incontinence at some time in their lives. The majority fail to seek clinical help and those that do will put up with the symptoms for an average of 4 years before consulting a health professional (Gallup, 1994).

A few around the table admitted that since childbirth things really had gone downhill but only one of us had been to see a trained physiotherapist. The one who did nearly brought the ceiling down when she told us how she was packed off from her appointment with ‘a training egg’ which she was told to put inside to improve muscle. She described how she inserted the egg and got into the shower only seconds later to hear a huge ‘thud’ as she layed her egg on the shower floor.

Others, myself included, admitted to having to wear pads or Tenas to exercise in – just in case. I certainly know that I wouldn’t put myself through Zumba or BootCamp without being properly Tena’d.

Fact: It is estimated that 20% of sanitary pad sales are used to self treat the symptoms of stress incontinence.

What we all acknowledged through tears of laughter was that doing pelvic exercises would help our problem but doing them regularly and doing them correctly is key. As if by magic our heads started bobbing up and down at the table as we tried to Kegel. ‘No’ I was trying to plead through crippling stomach cramps ‘I shouldn’t be able to tell that you’re doing them.’

Fact: Very few women exercise their pelvic floor effectively and on a regular basis. Among those that do, very many fail to identify and exercise the correct muscles, and this can do more harm than good.

Our hilarious conversation lead to the conclusion that:
1. I am not alone in this problem, far from it.
2. Us women we are not being shown how to perform pelvic floor exercises effectively

The Pelvic Toner

Buoyed by the admission from my friends and in the guilty knowledge that I had something that would help me back at home I started trying out The Pelvic Toner. You see back in April, when I was trawling through some press releases, I saw a release about a Pelvic Toner that had been put through a two year trial at Bristol Urology Institute and was found to be superior to other products on the market and the only device available on the GP prescription. I had requested one with all intention of putting myself through some kind of Pelvic Floor boot camp but then got caught up in ‘life’ and it was shoved under my pile of books.

Dusting it off, I decided that now was the time. Reading the instructions I found out that The Pelvic Toner is effective for those where a weak pelvic floor is the problem and where effective exercise is the solution. This includes Urinary Stress Incontinence, prolapse and sexual dysfunction.

Ripping into the box I found the gadget in question – it’s red (although I see from this picture that it also comes in white) and doesn’t look that different to a pair of hair straighteners – so make sure you pick up the right pair! Inside the box are some springs (of differing strengths) and essentially an instruction guide. As my friends and I had already indentified, we knew that doing pelvic floor exercises could be effective (the Royal College of Physicians agrees with us – they found that there is a 70-80% cure or improvement in suitable cases) but doing the properly was the problem. This is where The Pelvic Toner comes into play as it can show you that you’re doing the exercises properly.

You insert the toner, as per instructions, with the tip facing down, and then you begin the squeezes. You can tell if you’re using the correct muscles or movement as the toner opens and closes with each squeeze. The instructions suggest that you begin with 3 sets of 30 reps and that you work up to 6 sets over time. As you improve you can increase the resistance by adding stronger springs. It is recommended that to get the maximum benefit from the exercises you should do them at least 3 or 4 times a week for between 3 and 6 months and after that a couple of times a week.

Here I am three weeks later and I have to say I’ve had some quite amazing results. I am by no means cured but last week I did a Zumba class without a Tena and there was no leakage.

For me it’s not always possible to have the privacy to lie down and perform these exercises using the Pelvic Toner – I worry that I’m going to get burst in on by over-inquisitive kids or husband. However, having used the toner I am aware of what the squeezes should feel like and therefore more confident sans gadget that I am doing them correctly.

Fact: The Pelvic Toning exercise routine provides a basis for regular and effective exercise of the pelvic floor and helps to identify, isolate and effectively exercise the all-important Pubococcygeal Muscle by maximising the work rate of the muscle against a suitable resistance.

Having got control of dealing with the wee little problem I can already envisage a future where wearing pads for exercise will not be necessary. A time when I can safely jump onto a bouncy castle or be an impromptu entrant in the Mum’s race at Sports Day. The silly thing is it’s so simple that it’s something I should have dealt with ages ago but as I’ve said before ‘life’ just gets in the way.

Great Fact!: 60% of users of the PelvicToner noted that their partner noticed an improvement in their vaginal embrace leading directly to a more satisfying sexual experience. (User survey, 2007)

If you’re like me, or my friends for that matter, and know you should do something about your pelvic floor but are too busy or keep putting it off why not do something about it NOW? I promise, if I can do it – you can too. Even better the company is currently offering £5 off the normal retail price of £29.99.

Good luck – you’ll be on that trampoline soon!

*I have not been paid or been given any other monetary incentive to write this review. I was given a free product to review but the content and opinion expressed are my own and in no way biased by the company involved.

Click for more facts about stress incontinence and pelvic floor exercises