A high-tech chair that exercises pelvic muscles could help treat urinary incontinence in men.
A magnetic coil hidden in the seat of the chair generates a high-intensity magnetic field when switched on. As the waves of magnetic energy pass through the pelvic area, they cause thousands of tiny contractions in the muscles that control the bladder, making them firmer and reducing the risk of urine leakage.
Research has shown that men with severe incontinence who sat on the chair for 30 minutes six times had less urine leakage, used fewer incontinence pads and woke up less often during the night to urinate.
About one in ten people suffer from urinary incontinence. Women suffer more, often because of the pressure that pregnancy and childbirth can put on the pelvic floor.
As many as 30 percent of men aged 60 and over also suffer from it, in many cases as a result of an enlarged prostate (the walnut-shaped gland that surrounds the urethra; the tube through which urine is carried out of the body).
About one in ten people suffer from urinary incontinence. Women suffer more, but up to 30 percent of men aged 60 and over also suffer from it, in many cases due to an enlarged prostate.
The prostate naturally grows as we age, putting pressure on the urethra and causing leakage, or in some cases urinary retention – where a man has difficulty emptying his bladder properly.
Another common cause is prostate cancer surgery, where the gland is removed in its entirety. This can also damage the nerves and muscles around the bladder.
The procedure, called radical prostatectomy, is performed on more than 4,000 men a year in the UK. It is estimated that 65 percent experience urinary incontinence symptoms for up to five years after the operation.
Current treatments range from exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to medications that relax the muscles in the neck of the bladder, making it easier to empty.
Researchers at John Muir Hospital in California, where the high-tech chair is being tested, now believe it could be a more convenient, drug-free alternative.
They recruited ten men who had undergone radical prostatectomy and had severe urinary incontinence. They each sat in the chair for six half-hour sessions over a three-week period.
Once you turn on the device using a remote control, the magnetic field it generates stimulates electrical activity in the pelvic floor muscles, activating the nerves that control muscle contractions.
The theory is that the contractions, like pelvic floor exercises, increase muscle density, making the muscles stronger and better controlling urine flow.
Previous research has shown that this technique also has beneficial effects in incontinent women.
The results of the most recent study, published in the Journal of Medical and Surgical Urology, found that the men had 30 percent fewer incontinence complaints.
The use of incontinence products decreased by 40 percent, with two volunteers able to stop using them altogether. The number of times sleep was interrupted by the urge to urinate was halved.
Professor Raj Persad, a urologist at Bristol Urology, commented on the research: ‘This technology is fascinating and offers an ingenious way to activate and strengthen these muscles.
“It could well become a mainstay of therapy if larger-scale studies prove its effectiveness.”
A recently developed drug that targets muscles in the urethra — the tube that carries urine out of the body — could help ease incontinence. A study from Nihon University in Japan found that the drug, code-named TAS-303, reduced incontinence episodes by half, the Journal of Urology reported. It works by strengthening muscles in the urethra.