Pelvic floor Biofeedback devices
If you want to work with a gadget to do your active pelvic floor exercises, a biofeedback device can enhance your practise.
- Helpful to target muscle strength & endurance skills to improve leaks & bladder control.
- Particularly useful to work on your brain skills such as co-ordination & multi-tasking for higher level sports and hobbies.
- If you suffer with pelvic floor pain from hypertonic of over-tense muscles you can visualise your relaxation and practise your downtraining exercises.
With most devices over £100 it is important to spend your money wisely. This Field Guide helps you understand the similarities & differences between the products available in the UK.
How to they work?
There has been a recent explosion in “fem-tech” options, particularly pelvic floor biofeedback devices. On the one hand empowering women to improve their pelvic floor exercising in the privacy of their own homes. On the other hand resulting in a more than a little confusion about what they do.
They help to answer the question “am I doing it right”??
- The action of your muscles contracting is relayed to a machine which “shows” you what you are doing. There are several different ways this can be done.
- Some machines pick up the electrical signal from your muscles while some respond to pressure.
- Some give you a visual picture of what you are doing,
- others beep or vibrate in response to your contraction.
- Biofeedback devices are great to correctly identify your pelvic floor muscles in different positions.
- They ensure you are contracting correctly
- and also help you focus on relaxing fully between contractions
- They give targets to aim for to improve strength, endurance and co-ordination.
- You can practice more complicated tasks. Skills you need for real life or your sport.
- Make exercising a bit more fun (!) and interesting. This will help you to keep up long-term practice (rather like a piece of gym-kit for your pelvic floor!)
Examples of pelvic floor biofeedback devices:
To be professional, I do not recommend a single specific product or supplier. But I have aimed to narrow down the list of options for you. Please do read customer reviews to help you make your decision. Specialist physiotherapists, like myself, have units in clinic for you to try before you buy.
Categories explored here are:
- Electrical biofeedback devices with connecting wires (often found in clinics): Simplex, Peritone
- Pelvic floor training devices compatible with smart phones: Elvie, Pericoach, Pelvifly, Perifit, Femfit
- pressure biofeedback devices: Kegel8 Trainer, Epino, Vibrance
Electrical biofeedback devices: with connecting wires
Peritone EMG biofeedback unit and Simplex EMG biofeedback unit are the ones we have used in our clinic for many years (same device in different packaging). Many physiotherapy departments have these for you to use at your visit and/or to borrow. Just like French women train in their postnatal rehabiliation sessions.
They are effectively two parts. You place a small single-person-use internal electrode (most commonly a Periform) into the vagina. Then put your clothes back on! Link your internal device by a cable to the handheld Pelvitone or Simplex unit.
When you contract your pelvic floor muscles their electrical activity registers on the screen. This makes the lights change from orange to green and gives an audible beep.
You can practise your quick maximum power squeezes seeing how high you can make the lights go. Also, practise keeping the lights green while you cough or try moving your arms or legs. There is also a work/rest function which ‘counts’ the endurance holds for you and tells you your average squeeze score at the end.
Simplex devices are available to rent (£88/month) or buy from de Smit Medical or buy from StressNoMore & other online sellers +/- £225 (including the Periform).
Pelvic floor training devices: which connect via bluetooth to a phone app
I have all of these availble to show you in my clinic but the internal devices are understandably single use only (!) so I’m afraid you can’t try before you buy.
Elvie Trainer
Elvie £169
The Elvie was the first female designed product to update units above. A discreet, attractive, wireless bluetooth pebble-shaped device goes inside the vagina. Use an app to turn your phone into the biofeedback monitor/exercise tracker.
It is still popular as it has modern smart phone visuals, easy charting & a sense of community amongst users.
No cables between you and the phone but you can’t put knickers back on or the bluetooth can’t connect. It is beautifully packaged and well designed by women. It can be used in the second trimester of pregnancy but is not recommended for the 1st and 3rd trimesters.
Elvie is officially available “on prescription” but sadly, I don’t know anyone whose managed to get one this way.
Pericoach System
Pericoach System £145
The Pericoach System shows your pelvic floor contractions as clear graphs on your phone. Pre-set programmes guide you to practice exercises twice daily and, like the Elvie, uses algorythms to automatically progress you as you improve your skills. You can give you physiotherapist access to your data so that she can guide you virtually.
Pelvifly/K-Goal
Pelvifly £135
Pelvifly is a package connecting the K Goal pressure sensor to a phone app for sensitive imaginative biofeedback games with add on connection to a consultation with a remote physiotherapist available too.
The largest of the internal probes, which will suit those who find more petite devices fall out too easily.
It responds to the pressure of your pelvic floor squeezes. This is particularly useful for those who need to learn to relax the pelvic floor (called downtraining).
Pelvifly offers the greatest variety of challenges with innovative vibrant visuals – including butterflies visiting flowers, rockets flying through tunnels, basketballs into hoops and an engaging octopus!
Perifit
Perifit £119 & Perifit+ £149
Two neat middle-sized options of internal device to work with it’s free phone app. Fun, animated “games” to play for a range of skills including strength, co-ordination and relaxation.
The Perifit+ is slightly shorter (6cm vs 8cm) than the orginal Perifit and designed to allow you to move about with comfort – so great if you need to challenge yourself standing or jogging/jumping/leaping.
Uniquely doesn’t need charging. Operates from an inbuilt battery with a 5 year life.
Femfit
Femfit £245
femfit® by JUNOFEM, developed in New Zealand, is the newest product available in the UK. It’s a completely different shape. The petitie, flexible, flat training device is surprisingly easy to insert into the vagina and keep in place. 8 tiny monitors feedback the action of your pelvic floor muscles to a free phone app. You can choose to share your practise sessions with your physiotherapist from within the app.
The challenge is to follow a fun bird as it moves up and down along a wire. Beginners start with just 4 minute sessions to learn the 4 basic skills (class squeeze, rapid contractions, holds & The Knack), before following a 12 Week strength building programme.
My favorite feature – you can download the app before you buy the device! Explore the programmes to see if you like the format – you won’t be able to “see” if you are working correctly but you can use the bird moving as a visual aid to tell your brain what to do – see if you find the concept engaging & motivating. I think you will! If you then want to use the internal device to check your technique & get the full training experience you can buy from within the app.
Pressure Biofeedback devices
Kegel 8 Biofeedback Pelvic Trainer £94.99
Kegel8’s biofeedback pelvic trainer uses a pressure system where you squeeze on a larger tube (NB latex covering) which moves a dial on the hand held unit. Unsophisticated but effective for checking what you are doing and therefore a relatively inexpensive option
Epi-No Delphine Plus £99.99
Eip-No’s primary purpose is a tool to stretch the perineum in preparation for vaginal delivery. It can also be used as a biofeedback tool before & after birth. The dial lets you visualise the amount of squeeze pressure you are creating with your muscle contraction.
Epi-No (like the Kegel8 trainer) is less sensitive that the electrical biofeedback or bluetooth devices. However, the advantage is that it is certified for use through pregnancy.
A recent study * did not show evidence of a protective effect of the epi-No on birth trauma, however, anecdotally many women feel it has helped their confidence to relax the vaginal opening to prepare for birth.
*Kamisan Atan I, et al. BJOG 2016 Does the Epi_No birth trainer prevent vaginal birth-related pelvic floor trauma? A multicentre prospective randomised controlled trial.
Vibrance Pelvic Trainer £140
The Vibrance Pelvic Trainer is a petite internal device which vibrates when you correctly contract your pelvic floor muscles. The device is easy to insert but you may need to hold it in position. There are no wires, or external unit, the vibration is felt in the device itself.
This device could also be useful as a ‘bridge’ back to penetrative sex, if you don’t want to use a traditional vibrator. You could practice inserting the trainer at your own pace. You might find the vibration element helpful to re-sensitise your tissues.
Useful things to know when buying a biofeedback gadget:
Note about VAT exemption
If you have had a problem for more than 3 months, you can declare yourself as having a ‘chronic medical condition’ and do not have to pay VAT. There will be a form to complete. This does not apply to the Elvie which is registered as an exercise tracker not a medical device. Not all the online suppliers can offer this service.
Combined Stimulation & Pelvic floor Biofeedback Machines
You can buy combined units which do both functions. However, these are surprisingly expensive (and a bit fiddly). More suited to a clinical setting. At home, for DIY personal use, if you feel you need both systems I usually suggest you buy two separate simpler units and switch between them.
Lubricating gel
You will need a water-based lubricating gel to help the insertion of the devices. It is essential to help the electrical devices to operate correctly. A simple, in-expensive, chemist-own or basic brand name is theoretically all you need. If you have concerns about ingredients you may prefer an organic version. Do read my posts about the difference between water-based and oil-based lubricating products.
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Not sure what YOU need?
Get clarity first
If you are not too sure how good your muscles are then before you spend ANY money on a gadget or device I would highly recommend an hour spent with a specialist physiotherapist! Your appointment will be £70-90 outside London.
Our role at physiotherapy is to do an internal assessment of your pelvic floor muscles. We will check how well they are working and teach you how to get the best from them – you may not need any gadgets at all! And if you do we can help you make the best choice for your needs.
Try a pelvic floor biofeedback unit before you buy
Many physio clinics can loan you both muscle stimulation and biofeedback units to try out at home. To see how well they work for you (whether you truly find the time to practise!?!) before you consider buying your own. (NB you still have your own internal probe – no sharing of those!).
It is particularly important to consider an individual assessment by a specialist physiotherapist if you are at all worried that your pelvic floor muscles might be too tight rather than too weak.
Physios can also teach you active exercises , which require no equipment at all! We usually combine pelvic floor exercises with appropriate abdominal muscle work as these two areas need to work well together for best support of our internal organs.
Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have further questions. Readers would love to know your experiences if you would be happy to share?
Savage, A.M (2021). Handheld biofeedback devices to enhance pelvic floor muscle training. Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric & Gynaecological Physiotherapy, 128, 54-57
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Hi
I wonder if you could please tell me where I can purchase the ‘ Vibrance Pelvic Trainer’ and the cost if this please.
Thank you,
Neasa L