FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 15, 2019 • WELLNESS • THE QUEENS COURIER 41
wellness
You exercise your abs; what about your pelvic fl oor muscles?
Urinary tract, bladder control and bowel
problems are a major issue for men and
women alike and it’s one of the most
embarrassing aspects of aging, tearing of
the pelvic muscles during childbirth, anal
or rectal cancer. Many people who suff er
with urinary incontinence can also have
leaky bowel, and suff er in silence, sometimes
confi ned to their homes.
Most people wait years to let their doctor
know they are having a problem. For
instance, up to 50% of men aft er age 50
with an enlarged prostate gland, and those
who have had surgery to treat prostate
cancer may also experience incontinence.
Th ere are several types of incontinence
including urge, stress and mixed incontinence,
which can cause accidents or unintended
leaks when coughing, sneezing,
laughing, jumping or lift ing, and can occur
any time or at any place.
A new, non-surgical solution treats incontinence
and eliminates the need for pads
and diapers altogether. It’s called Attain and
is the fi rst over-the-counter non-implantable
muscle stimulator designed to help
treat incontinence by exercising the pelvic
fl oor muscles. Th e small, painless, easy-touse
medical device allows people to selftreat
in the privacy of their own homes.
Many respond well to pelvic-fl oor electrical
stimulation and biofeedback as a fi rstline
treatment, before considering surgery
or medication.
We go to the gym, take cycling and
Pilates classes to exercise our calves and
abs but shouldn’t forget to strengthen our
pelvic fl oor muscles too. Attain provides a
guided exercise program to solve incontinence
at the source.
Muscle stimulation at specifi c frequencies
in an alternating manner increases
pelvic fl oor muscle strength, calming
the detrusor muscle and eliciting a muscle
contraction, providing neuromuscular
re-training. Th e lighted biofeedback
graph and visual cues guide the user
through a series of variable timed contractions
along with a relaxation phase,
much like a physical therapy session. A
customizable probe infl ates to place the
stimulation in full contact with the vaginal
or rectal wall, ensuring a muscle
contraction with a comfortable, eff ective
stimulation delivery. A probe provides
active resistance for a full muscle contraction,
re-positioning musculature into
a resting position between contractions.
Dr. Arnold Kegel developed exercises
to strengthen pelvic fl oor muscles in 1948
and physicians to this day remind their
patients, “Do your Kegels!” Kegel exercises
have been the fi rst line treatment, but most
people experience frustration because they
unknowingly don’t perform the Kegels
eff ectively or consistently, which leads to
no improvement in symptoms. Attain electrical
stimulation with biofeedback therapy
is an eff ective tool to do your Kegels for you
and improve bladder and bowel control.
Talk with your doctor, urogynecologist
or medical team about your incontinence
and ask them about Attain before agreeing
to surgery or meds or relying on pads
or diapers.
Courtesy BPT
/WWW.QNS.COM
