I Tried Out a Device for Incontinence, Vaginal and Pelvic Floor Issues…

Wearing pads 24/7, crossing your legs when you sneeze or avoiding certain exercises due to leakage is no way to live. 

I’m horrified by the discreet incontinence pads delivery commercials and the devices to help you stay dry overnight normalizing this phenomenon.

None of this is on anyone’s “getting older” bucket list. 

I recently learned about a device that uses electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) to stimulate the pelvic floor as well as rejuvenate the tissue of the vaginal wall from a nurse practitioner friend of mine, Shannon Keenan. 

When she offered me a trial session I was all in, I’ll get to the details in a few but let me give you some background.

In the last year I started to notice sneezing and jumping workouts at certain times during the month caused a little dribbling for me.

Not cool and kinda freaky. 

Embracing the fact that I had neglected caring for my pelvic floor with all my running and love for lifting heavy weights I dove into researching my options.

Sadly, my training as a doctor didn’t include discussion of pelvic floor health.

It wasn’t even on my radar till I met a pelvic floor physical therapist, Dr. Becky McCormick, who came to work at my spa in Tacoma almost a decade ago.

She currently works out of the same office as I do and she is a clutch person to have on my referral team!

For those of my clients who aren’t in Tacoma I refer to the genius of Dr. Brianne Grogan of Vibrant Pelvic Health who has hundreds of videos online to support women struggling with pelvic floor issues from prolapse to low back pain and incontinence.

But what if exercises aren’t enough…

…or you forget to do them regularly?

What if you just want to be done with the issues and do a little maintenance here and there?

This is where I see the InMode Forma V, V-Tone and Morpheus treatments coming into the mix.

Shannon told me she had a device that looked like a wand, heated up and would be inserted into my vagina where she would move it along the vaginal and labial tissue to help with rejuvenation. 

Kinda like a hot stone massage for my vagina…ok😄

That was the warm up!

Next, she would insert a device that looked like an extra large super tampon in a tear drop shape that would stimulate my pelvic floor to contract. 

Interesting.

Never one to turn down an adventure I gave her the thumbs up to get this party started!

I’m so glad I did.

The Forma V’s wand felt like a gentle myofacial release massage to my vaginal tissue.

Perhaps you’ve experienced a deep tissue massage where the therapist is digging in your glute with their elbow and no matter how deep they go they just aren’t getting to the spot. 

The Forma-V wand got that deep, elusive knot for me. 

I felt my tissue relax for the first time in many years in the right side of the pelvis as Shannon was guiding the Forma-V along my vaginal wall. 

Make no mistake – there’s nothing sexual about this treatment it’s not going to have you feeling some kind of way.

The warmth of the wand and the stretch of the tissue helps you identify those tight spots you may feel in your hips or pelvis that massage can’t seem to get. 

If that wasn’t enough when she moved onto the V-tone, the extra large super tampon looking device, I had an equally relaxing experience.

Prior to last Friday I couldn’t tell you if I’d actually ever really felt my pelvic floor. 

I thought with my home exercises I was engaging it but now I’m pretty sure I was off. 

As the V-tone contracted I only felt the left side of my pelvic floor contracting despite Shannon assuring me she could see the entire area moving. 

Because she’s a gem she let me repeat the V-tone the following Sunday and I was then able to feel my entire pelvic floor contracting. 

Wild and so cool. 

I wish all women could experience the v-tone just once to solidify the sensation of pelvic floor contraction and relaxation. 

The magical power of knowing this feeling alone can go a long way to staying on top of your pelvic health. 

My pelvis feels open and relaxed in a way that it has never felt before. 

Chronic low back pain with radiation to my right side has been a low level irritant for many years due to my L5-S1 disc herniation. 

Since Friday I have not felt pain, not even once. 

That’s a huge relief for me and my nervous system.

Chronic pain can wear you down and keep your nervous system on edge…even if your life is chill. 

The pelvic chakra has a lot to do with safety and feeling grounded. 

I’ve felt amazing in my body since those two sessions.

At a time in life when symptoms can have you feeling like something has hijacked your body – it’s great to have hope there are options for relief. 

While I’m always cautiously optimistic about new treatments I have to say I’m feeling amazing.

I’m excited to try out a jump rope workout this week to test things out…stay tuned!

If you’re struggling with incontinence, low back or pelvic pain as well as vaginal or pelvic floor issues I highly recommend looking into the InMode treatments with a practitioner in your area. (click HERE to find one).

I’m glad to be alive at a time where there are options to counter some of the most annoying side effects of aging. 

Tomorrow – on my podcast – I’ll be talking about my peri-menopause journey as well as what I’ve seen to be the most effective in supporting my clients to thrive through the peri-menopause to menopause and beyond transition.

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Stay tuned!

Here’s to your health,

Dr. J