Can you sneeze, laugh, cough and jump with confidence? Or do you, along with over 25 per cent of the adult female population, lock your knees together at the thought of any of those things?
The prevalence rate of urinary incontinence is over 25 per cent, and this increases with age. Responsible for supporting the bladder, uterus, bowel and small intestine, the group of muscles known as the pelvic floor can become stretched and weak after pregnancy, childbirth or simply through regular exercise such as running and lifting weights. Daily exercise of these muscles can prevent the need for surgery, prevent and correct unintentional leaking of urine, and improve your sex life.
So why isn’t every woman doing daily pelvic floor muscle exercises, also known as kegel exercises? Named after Dr. Arnold Kegel, the gynaecologist who designed the first instrument for measuring ‘kegel’ strength, kegel exercises for many are still a mystery.
The pelvic floor muscles are out of sight, so it is hard to know when you are doing your kegels, if you are contracting your pelvic floor muscles correctly, contracting them at all, or if exercise is having any effect. In fact, though most women know they should be doing their kegels, an estimated 60 per cent find it challenging to perform them properly. And when you can’t see the fruits of your labour immediately, it’s hard to stay motivated.
Help is at hand. As with so many elements of our daily lives, clever technology can now help you get more out of your pelvic floor.
Aimed at women struggling with traditional kegels, and those women who need some support and motivation, the KegelCore Pelvic Floor Exerciser and Toner is a personal training device designed by women, for women, to help you regain control and confidence over your bladder function.
KegelCore is discreet and easy to use, and is designed to provide greater muscle resistance than exercising ‘blind’. The device is anatomically shaped to fit a woman’s body and it is made of body-safe materials. And here is the clever technology part—KegelCore syncs with an app on your smartphone to provide you with descriptive exercises to perform and guide you through each move, so that you can visualise the exercise and correctly measure its effectiveness.
What’s more, the app tracks progress over time by monitoring muscle strength, endurance and reaction times, and, it sends you reminders so that you never miss a workout!
If only going to the gym were this easy!
Sponsored by the maker of KegelCore
