Mar 19, 2022 | Uncategorized
Social withdrawal and massive impairment of quality of life are often the sad consequences of urinary incontinence. Many patients with uncontrollable urine leakage no longer dare to talk to people, and the topic is also unpleasant for doctors. Yet in many cases the discomfort of urination can be alleviated with a pelvic floor training device, because the pelvic floor plays an important role in many forms of bladder weakness.
What is urinary incontinence?
Urinary incontinence is defined as the inability to control the time and place of urination. What we take for granted from childhood becomes increasingly difficult or impossible with age and various diseases. The forms of bladder weakness range from a slight dribble during physical exertion or sneezing to a complete loss of control over the sphincter muscle.
How common is bladder weakness?
Predominant causes of urinary incontinence are age-related changes in the pelvic floor muscles and urogenital tract. In women, the percentage increases with age and number of births; the average is 6-10 percent. Older men often suffer from prostate enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia, BPH): while urinary incontinence still occurs in 11 percent of those aged 45-65, the figure is already 32 percent in those over 80.
What forms of urinary incontinence are there?
Doctors distinguish between several types of urinary incontinence, depending on the symptoms and causes. The most important of these are explained below.
Stress incontinence occurs with even the slightest physical exertion: Walking, lifting, sneezing, coughing, laughing. Men and women suffer equally from this form of urinary incontinence. In the former, prostate enlargement and prostate surgery are the main causes, while women often suffer from weakened pelvic floor muscles after the strain of childbirth and hormonal changes after menopause. The outdated and inaccurate term stress incontinence is hardly ever used in professional circles.
Attention hold-up! If you suddenly feel an irrepressible urge to urinate from one moment to the next, this is called urge incontinence. Bladder infections are the most common reason in women, especially since they occur particularly frequently thanks to the short urethra. In both sexes, unstable bladder muscles, neurological diseases or bladder tumors can also be responsible for urge incontinence.
Mixed incontinence is when a combination of urge incontinence and stress incontinence is present. It is particularly common in men who have undergone prostate surgery, which affects the urethra and sphincter. As with pure urge incontinence, a diagnostic clarification of the cause is absolutely necessary.
In overflow continence urine automatically passes when the bladder is full, without the patient having any influence over it. The most common causes are weak bladder or pelvic floor muscles or a blockage of the urethra. In older men, this is mainly due to prostate enlargement. Otherwise, nerve damage due to diabetes affects the muscles, or tumors, strictures and bladder stones block the urinary tract.
Extraurethral means outside the urethra, extraurethral incontinence means that urine drains through unanticipated pathways. Causes include congenital defects of the urethra or ureter that manifest in childhood, or secondary damage, such as the formation of fistulas between the bladder or ureter and the bowel or vagina. Such detours can only be corrected by surgery; pelvic floor training can only support rehab.
In reflex incontinence, nerve impulses trigger reflex emptying of the urinary bladder. The patient cannot control this process, often the patient is not even aware of the urge to urinate. The injury to the nerve pathways involved is located in the spinal cord (spinal reflex incontinence; spina = spinal cord) or in the brain (supraspinal reflex incontinence; supraspinal = above the spinal cord). The most common causes of spinal reflex incontinence are spinal cord injuries, paraplegia and multiple sclerosis; for supraspinal reflex incontinence, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Pelvic floor training reaches its limits here; an indwelling catheter or bladder pacemaker are used instead.
Pelvic floor training has proven effective for the most common forms of urinary incontinence: stress incontinence, stress incontinence and their mixed forms. These account for over 90 percent of cases of bladder weakness. A special pelvic floor training device makes daily exercises easier.
Modern pelvic floor trainers such as the PelvicTool from Alonea are considered particularly innovative. Sit on the device in normal sportswear and track your workout on your cell phone or tablet with the accompanying app. The highly sensitive sensors show which muscles you are currently tensing – there’s no better way to visualize your exercise success. Finally being able to exercise again when you really want to secures a greater deal of quality of life.
Dec 15, 2021 | Uncategorized
Fecal incontinence is common, especially in old age, but no one likes to talk about it. It is estimated that 8 – 9 percent of the population suffers from faecal retention disorders. An essential element of stool control is the pelvic floor muscles, the functioning of which can be specifically improved with pelvic floor training. Pelvic floor training devices like the innovative one
PelvicTool
from Alonea are a great help.
What is fecal incontinence?
We are used to determining for ourselves when and where we pass our urine and stool. Stool retention or stool continence is a complex process in which
- Condition of the chair,
- Function of the rectum as a reservoir,
- surrounding pelvic floor muscles and
- their sensory and motor innervation
play an essential role.
Fecal incontinence is a disorder of retention – intestinal wind, fluid, mucus or stool leak from the anus, from a minor mishap when coughing to a complete loss of control. The consequence is a considerable impairment of the quality of life.
How common is fecal incontinence?
Taboo subject faecal incontinence: Studies assume a frequency of 8 – 9 percent, some even of up to 18 percent, with a clear increase with age. In the U.S., 30 percent of those affected are over the age of 65, 63 percent of whom are women and 37 percent of whom are men.
What are the causes of fecal incontinence?
Numerous factors can cause fecal incontinence:
- Damage to the sphincter
- Prolapse of the rectum
- Operations on the rectum and sphincter (intestinal fistulas, haemorrhoids)
- perineal laceration
- Chronic diarrhea
- Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases(Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
- Food intolerances (gluten allergy, lactose intolerance)
- Resection of parts of the intestine (colon cancer)
- Chronic constipation
- insufficient drinking
- “paradoxical defecation” with increased mucus formation
- Pelvic floor insufficiency
- Overload due to excess weight (obesity)
- Weakening due to prolapse of the uterus (uterine prolapse), prolapse of the intestine (rectocele) or prolapse of the bladder (cystocele)
- congenital malformations of the anus and rectum
- Nerve damage in the pelvic floor
- vaginal deliveries
- Herniated disc
- traumatic injuries (pelvic fracture)
- Neuropathies (diabetes, radiation, chemotherapy)
- Stroke
- multiple sclerosis
- Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia
- radical tumor operations for cancer
What is the role of the pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor consists of tendons, ligaments and pelvic floor muscles. It forms the rear closure of the abdominal cavity and closes the opening in the pelvic bone girdle. As an umbrella-like structure, it holds the adjacent organs in place. At the same time, the pelvic floor muscles are important for the function of the bowel and urogenital tract: emptying the rectum and urinary bladder, sex and childbirth.
Where the bowel, urethra and uterus break through the pelvic floor muscles are their natural weak points. Already as a baby we learn to control the emptying of the bladder and bowels. If there are problems with urinary or faecal incontinence in old age, this early pelvic floor training can be taken up again.
What can be done about fecal incontinence?
As a first important measure against fecal incontinence, most doctors recommend pelvic floor training with a pelvic floor training device. Many patients can be helped in this way without the need for treatment with medication or surgical intervention.
How does pelvic floor training help with bowel control?
Everyone knows where the biceps are or what well-trained abs look like, but hardly anyone knows about the pelvic floor muscles. The former can be trained in the gym, the pelvic floor with a special pelvic floor training device. It helps strengthen targeted muscles like the levator ani muscle, which are important for bowel control.
The advantages of the PelvicTool pelvic floor trainer
A modern app-controlled pelvic floor training device like the PelvicTool by Alonea makes the exercises much easier. Classic pelvic floor trainers were primarily intended for women, had to be inserted anally or vaginally and had no possibility of control. In contrast, the PelvicTool can be operated with a smartphone or tablet and is also suitable for men, as it is intimate-free.
You can sit on the pelvic floor training device with light training clothing and use it immediately. The neuromuscular control of the pelvic floor can be tracked on the screen – it couldn’t be easier! In physiotherapy it is no problem to perform the muscle training with several patients at the same time and at home the pelvic floor training can be done without any special effort.
Sources, links and further literature
May 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
You are attending the Swiss Midwifery Congress of May 24/25 and would like to get to know our PelvicTool Home & Sport, pelvic floor training device? We are looking forward to meeting you!
We would be happy to show you possible settings of the PelvicTool app, and the use of the pelvic floor trainer live on site.
About BeBo® Verlag & Training GmbH
With more than 25 years of experience, BeBo® is the leading provider of education and training for professionals in training and therapy who wish to further their education in the field of pelvic floor training. In addition, BeBo® offers a variety of pelvic floor courses as well as individual training and has a wide range of shops on the subject of the pelvic floor. More info…
Organiser of the Swiss Congress of Midwives:
Schweizerischer Hebammenverband SHV
Venue:
Forum Fribourg, Rte du Lac 12, 1763 Granges-Paccot
Here you will find information on the Swiss Congress of Midwives…
Jan 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
Free Web Seminars 2022
With more than 25 years of experience, the company BeBo® is the leading provider of training and further education in the field of pelvic floor and therapy. The BeBo trainers have been working successfully with the PelvicTool for years and, as professionals, will present the pelvic floor training device to you competently and sensitively.
Product training PelvicTool (in German language)
During the 45-minute online training, you will receive an introduction to the PelvicTool Home & Sport. The possible settings of the PelvicTool app and its use in therapy will be shown and explained to you in detail. Please note that the training will be held in German.
Dates
20.5.22, 18.00 – 18.45 pm
22.6.22, 14.00 – 14.45 pm
21.9.22, 18.00 – 18.45 pm
30.11.22, 14.00 – 14.45 pm
30.11.22, 19.00 – 19.45 pm
Exchange of experience PelvicTool (in German language)
You already own a PelvicTool and were able to gain initial experience?
Gain new inputs! Exchange experiences, possible applications and possible settings of the device. This exchange is free of charge. Please note that the discussion will be held in German.
Dates
22.6.22, 19.00 – 19.45 pm
21.9.22, 14.00 –14.45 pm
Registration takes place directly on the BeBo® website. To the registration….
