One third of women and one in 10 men in Ireland suffer from bladder weakness, little accidents or leaks, making it a more common condition than hay fever, asthma or arthritis. Given that bladder weakness can have a negative impact on your quality of life, it’s crucial to find effective, comfortable treatments.
For women, there are a number of things that can cause bladder weakness, namely pregnancy, menopause or strenuous exercise, whereas for men it is more commonly experienced after prostate surgery. For both, it can be a source of embarrassment, discomfort, and be damaging to mental health.
Impact
In 2019, Innovo, from Atlantic Therapeutics, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 women who suffer from bladder weakness to reveal the taboo and stigma surrounding the condition. The results were staggering :
• 1 in 5 have been living with bladder weakness for more than 5 years;
• 42 per cent worry about uncontrollable leaks at work or out socialising;
• 1 in 3 feel anxious or depressed;
• 74 per cent haven't spoken to their partners or healthcare professionals about it;
• 63 per cent manage symptoms rather than treating the root cause;
• 1 in 3 are unaware that solutions exist to treat bladder weakness;
• More than half believe it's just a fact of getting older.
Bladder weakness impacts not only your physical and mental health, but it can also be an expensive condition, with people living with bladder weakness spending an average of almost €500 per year on pads. Given that pads mask the problem rather than solving it, this is a hefty price to pay. Another cost, and one which may not be often considered, is the environmental cost of continued pad use. A single incontinence pad can take up to 400 years to decompose after entering landfill.
The Galway-based company created an unprecedented, wearable and non-invasive solution, that treats the root cause of bladder weakness safely and effortlessly. Utilising its innovative Multipath technology, Innovo sends targeted muscle stimulations through a pair of shorts via neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), to safely and effectively strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor. By adjusting the intensity on a hand-held controller, Innovo delivers 180 pelvic floor contractions (or pelvic floor exercises) per session. With regular use for five days a week for about 30 minutes a day, improvements can be seen in as little as four weeks.
Improvements
Professor Ruth Maher, Dublin-born but now based at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, is a physical therapist and a co-inventor of the Innovo technology. Prof Maher explains that “Innovo is a completely revolutionary and non-invasive therapy for treating incontinence. I’ve been working with an incredibly talented and passionate team to develop this over the last ten years, and it has literally changed lives”. More than four million therapy sessions have been completed with Innovo so far, with zero reported adverse effects. Prof Maher continues “With Innovo, a real solution exists. One that treats the root cause by effectively strengthening and enhancing the coordination of the pelvic floor muscles, giving women and men the opportunity to live a leak-free life.”
My advice to others would be to not suffer in silence
Those who have benefitted from Innovo are keen to share their story. Star of Loose Women, TV Celebrity Nadia Sawalha shared her positive experience of using Innovo: “They look like exercise shorts; I lounge in them in front of the telly whilst they do my pelvic floor exercises for me. I can answer the door to the postman and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid”.
Kelly-Anne, 34, suffered with bladder weakness for four years after the birth of her daughter, but found that Innovo helped her to get her life back, “I no longer have the anxieties of pre-planning trips when leaving the house and carrying around extra pairs of knickers. I am finally happy and confident again! I’ve even got my mum using Innovo as she has experienced some stress incontinence as well, and she’s already feeling the benefits. Opening up about it has made me realise how common urinary incontinence is, people are just too afraid to say it. Women need to know they’re not alone. My advice to others would be to not suffer in silence or let it get to that point where it’s affecting your confidence and relationships. Innovo has been an amazing investment that changed my life and I would highly recommend it to anybody going through the same thing.”.