A chair that pumps out electromagnetic waves could help people whose lives are ruined by bowel incontinence.
The embarrassment often stems from weakness in the pelvic floor muscles, which form a hammock that supports the pelvic organs – the bladder, uterus, cervix, vagina and rectum.
While patients are traditionally advised to improve their symptoms by repeating exercises that strengthen and tone the pelvic floor muscles 10 times a day, the PelviPower chair induces up to 25,000 contractions in each 30-minute session.
It also targets the entire muscle rather than the 40 percent that is activated by pressing.
Grandmother Jan Swan, from Aintree, Merseyside, who started suffering embarrassing bowel accidents around five times a day, believes shock therapy is helping her condition
Jan, pictured on the PelviPower chair, induces up to 25,000 contractions during each 30-minute session
Maria Elliott, a private physiotherapist in London, has used the PelviPower chair on more than 50 clients, mostly women who have problems with bowel movements after childbirth.
According to The Masic Foundation, a charity for affected women, around one in 20 primiparas suffer injuries during childbirth that damage their pelvic floor muscles and anus, putting them at high risk of becoming incontinent.
These injuries can have a devastating impact on quality of life, affecting their health, intimate moments, family relationships and work.
Using PelviPower along with other pelvic floor exercises and dietary changes can help women recover and avoid surgery, says Ms Elliott. “Women travel hours to get to the chair. I used it for bowel incontinence before the pandemic and more and more mothers come to the clinic with this problem.
‘Combining PelviPower exercises with other exercises at home gives excellent results.’
Ms Elliott recommends two 20-minute sessions a week on the PelviPower for ten weeks.
Jordan Haworth, a gastrointestinal physiologist at the Functional Gut Clinic in Manchester, is setting up a pilot study to see the impact in this area. He points out that the chairs, which use concentrated, high-intensity electromagnetic technology, are typically used for urinary incontinence, but “it makes sense” that they could help with bowel problems, since a weak pelvic floor is often a major cause.
Mr Haworth says: “People often think that the pelvic floor is related to leaving the bladder, but it also controls all the muscles in your back. The chair is popular with patients because it is non-invasive, pain-free and you don’t even have to undress.”
Currently, the treatment is only available privately, with sessions starting at around £100 each. One of those who have benefited is Jan Swan, a grandmother from Aintree in Merseyside who had embarrassing bowel accidents around five times a day.
The 69-year-old retiree always had to lug around extra underwear and wipes, and often ran home to shower and change.
Jan’s story will be told on Tuesday in a Channel 4 digestive health documentary called Know Your S**t: Inside Our Guts, which aims to reveal what is and isn’t normal about the gut.
Jan, who bravely shares her struggle with this little-discussed form of incontinence, says: “I felt unclean all the time. It brings you down.”
Tests done during filming showed that the muscles supporting her bowel area were weak. But after a session on the PelviPower chair, in addition to pelvic floor exercises and a change in diet, she has only had one accident in the last few months.
She says: “After using the chair, I understood how to do my pelvic floor exercises properly. I immediately felt stronger. Now I do my exercises every day before I even get up.”
In 2018, The Mail on Sunday was the first to report on the technology when a similar chair, the Emsella, was launched to treat urinary incontinence.
Dr. Shirin Lakhani, a women’s health expert at Elite Aesthetics, who offers Emsella to patients, said it seems plausible that it could also be beneficial for bowel incontinence. “It’s related to pelvic floor weakness, so it’s not surprising that this type of treatment can help improve symptoms,” she said.
A study of 50 women with bowel incontinence in Egypt found that using the same technology that uses the chair and pelvic floor exercises produced better results than exercising alone. A study in the US also suggested that it provided women with temporary relief from their symptoms.
For Ms Swan, the changes have been transformative and she says she no longer has to worry about accidents.
“I can’t describe how wonderful the change is,” she says.
“Now that I know that just because I’m getting older, I don’t have to have stomach problems, that’s great.”
- Know Your S**t: Inside Our Guts airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
