Does a disposable home electrical stimulation device improve symptoms of urinary incontinence in women?

This study looked at the use of the Pelviva electro-stimulation device for the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI) in women. It found that the Pelviva device improves UI compared to standard treatment. 

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a very common problem for women, especially in older age. It involves involuntary urine leakage. Pelvic floor exercises are often prescribed to counteract this, and some women need procedures to try and strengthen the pelvic muscles. Electrical stimulation has been shown to improve UI in women. However, it involves surgically implanting an electro-stimulation device.

The Pelviva device is a disposable device that resembles a tampon. It is inserted into the vagina where it stimulates contractions to try and strengthen the pelvic floor. It is not known if the Pelviva device improves UI symptoms compared to standard treatments for UI.

86 women with urinary incontinence participated in this study. Participants were divided into 2 groups. Group 1 used the Pelviva device for 30 minutes per day for 12 weeks. Group 2 did not use the Pelviva device and used standard treatments recommended by their doctor. The ICIQ-UI questionnaire was used to measure the severity and impact of incontinence symptoms at the beginning and end of the study.

After 12 weeks of treatment, 17% of the Pelviva group described their symptoms as "very much better", compared to 0% of the other group. 54% of the Pelviva group described their symptoms as "a little or much better", compared to 15% of the other group. The Pelviva group showed an improvement of 1.81 points on the ICIQ-UI compared to the other group.

This study showed that the disposable Pelviva device improved symptoms of urinary incontinence in women over a 12 week period. 

Due to covid-19 restrictions, this study enrolled fewer participants than intended. This means that further larger studies are needed to confirm these results.

This study was funded by Femeda, the company that produces the Pelviva device. One of the author's owns the patent for the technology used in this device.