The most common type of urinary incontinence happens when physical activity — such as coughing, laughing, sneezing, running, or heavy lifting causes you to leak urine. Stress incontinence occurs when pelvic floor muscles, that support the bladder and urethra, weaken and put pressure on the bladder and urethra to work harder.
Pelvic floor weakening can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, prostate cancer treatment in males, menopause, persistent coughing and asthma, obesity, and the associated straining of chronic constipation.
Most patients describe the hipex treatment as an unusual sensation, but not painful. During the treatment, you will not have control of the muscle contractions as they will be involuntarily stimulated by the HI-EMT pulse, which is why it can feel unusual. The intensity of the treatment is gradually built to be adjusted to individual conditions. The program mimics the exercise concept that includes stretching, warming up, and cool-down exercises to reduce any muscle fatigue or discomfort.
The majority of patients will notice an improvement in their pelvic muscle tone and bladder after just one session. However, the best result will be achieved around a month after a course of 4-6 treatments. The result is considered permanent if you are committed to doing pelvic floor exercises at home to maintain the pelvic floor tone. If you do not use the muscle you will lose its newfound strength. It is similar to working out at the gym to achieve muscle strength and then stopping exercise; your muscles will become weaker. It is therefore advised you maintain at-home pelvic floor exercises and/or book maintenance HIPEX treatments every 6 months.
