UK Clinical research

The Bristol Urological Institute clinical study 
Following the initial study in the US, a second study was started at the UK's leading urodynamics research institute in 2008 with the objective of directly comparing the PelvicToner with the current 'gold standard' ie pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME). The first phase of the study concluded in late 2009 and the results were published in the British Journal of Urology International in January 2010 and confirm that using the PelvicToner without supervision is as effective as the NICE Gold Standard of supervised pelvic floor muscle training. To download the full paper in pdf form click here.

At the commencement of the trial in 2008 Paul Abrams the Professor of Urology at BUI had said: "It is 60 years since Arnold Kegel proposed pelvic floor exercises as a treatment for stress incontinence but a simple, effective method of putting all his principles into practice has eluded us. The PelvicToner seems to meet all the requirements that Kegel envisaged - it is a simple, patient-friendly, progressive resistance exercise device and provides feedback to the patient that the correct muscles are being engaged.” 

This optimism was well founded. The report author, Professor Marcus Drake, notes how the use of the PelvicToner can help overcome the fundamental weaknesses associated with PFME ie poor training, lack of patient confidence and poor compliance with the exercise recommendations. Key points noted by the research are that: 

The findings of the trial have been presented at national and international conferences including the ICS Conference, San Francisco, September 2009.

The following page is reprinted from the Autumn 2007 BioMed Newsletter when the BUI trial was announced. It puts the research into a useful context.