Biofeedback Therapy for Incontinence Economically Available in the Home Setting  

Not entirely new news, but certainly worth discussing again is the fact that economical devices are on the market now for home incontinence training, which have the added advantage of offering the user biofeedback. Biofeedback is a training technique by which people are taught by professionals or teach themselves how to control certain aspects of their own body. Biofeedback works by offering the person / patient positive reinforcement and showing them via some sort of cue what it is their body is doing. The idea is that the user will eliminate certain negative involuntary behaviors, or learn to perform desirable voluntary behaviors more effectively. Biofeedback devices can take many forms, but all of them will show the health care practitioner and or patient something about the current function of the patient internally. The visual information supplied by a monitor or meter gives the person an immediate understanding of what it is they are doing with their own body that they may not be able to physically feel.

Since this is a discussion of biofeedback for incontinence after all, I will mention the three direct biofeedback devices available on the market today for home use. They are the PMTx, the Myself, and the Pelvexiser. All of these products give the user some direct information about the strength and the correctness with which they are performing Pelvic Muscle Exercises or PMEs. The Pelvexiser, for example, uses an analog pressure meter or manometer to show the user the strength of each contraction, as well as providing the visual cue that the user is squeezing the right muscles. The Myself goes one step further, offering a LCD screen and digital programming that actually tells the user when to squeeze and when to relax, as well as showing the strength of each contraction.

Biofeedback training is becoming a well-recognized treatment method for incontinence. Some studies have shown a nearly 95% success rate for patients experiencing stress incontinence. So why is biofeedback necessary for a person if they already know how to do PMEs? Most people are in fact motivated by biofeedback in a way that is not possible without using one of these devices. Without using biofeedback it is like walking on a treadmill that doesn't tell you how far you've gone, or how fast your are walking. Knowing these things lets you evaluate your performance today in comparison with past performance, or simply confirm for you that you are doing your PMEs correctly, although you may not be able to distinguish that internal feeling. Biofeedback devices also provide the user with concrete data that can be passed along to health care providers. For instance if your gynecologist asks you to perform PMEs as a conservative treatment for stress incontinence, and you use a biofeedback device such as the Pelvexiser for several weeks before returning to your doctor, you could explain to the doctor that since beginning your training with the pelvexiser that the strength of your individual pelvic floor contractions has increased by ten times. The biofeedback meter on the Pelvexiser allows you to easily quantify the strength of your individual pelvic floor contractions. Valuable for motivational purposes, valuable data for your health care provider, and increased compliance are seemingly obvious advantages of biofeedback therapy for incontinence.

Since this type of therapy is very personal in nature it is significant that home units are available now at a reasonable cost to the user. If one chooses this form of conservative treatment for incontinence, it may be possible to get results equivalent to those from several visits to a clinic in your own home, or at the very least reduce the number of consultations you will need with your health care provider to perfect your PME technique. So the next question is... how far can you move the needle on your Pelvexiser?

About the Author

Brad Porter is a registered nurse in the state of Nevada working in an acute rehabilitation setting since 2005. Partner and Operations Manager of www.kegelcompare.com since 2004.