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Who can benefit from the evadri Bladder Control System?
What is the evadri Bladder Control System?
How does the evadri System work?
How long until the therapy starts to work?
How often do I need evadri therapy?
How long has this therapy been available?
How successful is the therapy?
How do I find a physician who offers therapy with the evadri System?
What is the pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles stretching across the bottom of the pelvis. It is attached to the pubic bone in front, and to the coccyx (the tail end of the spine) in back. In women, the openings from your bladder (urethra), your bowels (rectum) and your womb (vagina) and all pass through your pelvic floor.
Who can benefit from the evadri Bladder Control System?
- Those who suffer from weak pelvic floor muscles — (the muscles that help support the bladder, uterus and rectum)
- Those who experience urgency, frequency, and sometimes involuntary bladder emptying that even may be painful
- Those who have stress incontinence — urine loss associated with coughing, sneezing, laughing and/or lifting
- Those who experience urinary leakage following surgery
- Those who have given birth and now have bladder control problems
- Those who find that the use of absorbent pads or diapers restricts their quality of life
What is incontinence?
Urinary incontinence is often described as a condition where the accidental or unwanted loss of urine causes a social or hygienic problem. Incontinence is not a disease, but a symptom of a problem with the lower urinary tract. There are different kinds of incontinence, including overactive bladder and stress incontinence.
What is overactive bladder?
Overactive bladder occurs when the bladder muscle contracts involuntarily, like a muscle spasm, resulting in a sensation that the bladder is full when it is not. The unwanted urine leakage that happens shortly after a sudden, intense desire to urinate may make you feel that your bladder is controlling you, instead of you controlling your bladder.
What is stress incontinence?
Stress incontinence is involuntary urine leakage due to poor urethral support. Frequently, women experience stress incontinence while lifting, coughing, sneezing, running or exercising. Women who have given birth vaginally are especially prone to stress incontinence.
What is the evadri Bladder Control System?
The evadri System is an office-based treatment unit that provides a safe, well-tolerated therapy for bladder control problems. It is an effective way to treat most types of bladder control problems.
How does the evadri System work?
The evadri System is an office-based treatment unit that provides a safe, well-tolerated therapy for bladder control problems. It treats incontinence by teaching you to control the muscles that support and help control bladder function. At an in-office treatment session, a small sensor is inserted into the vagina. You are then asked to do an exercise called a “Kegel,” or contract the pelvic floor muscles as if trying to stop urinary flow. The sensor evaluates muscle strength and allows the muscle contraction to be seen on a display screen. This helps you and your healthcare professional determine if you are using the correct muscles. This is sometimes referred to as biofeedback.
With a little practice you can learn to contract the correct muscles, while relaxing others. Kegel exercises help strengthen pelvic floor muscles and therefore, improve bladder control. By watching the Kegel exercises on a display screen, you learn the correct exercise technique.
Small patch electrode sensors may be placed across the abdominal muscles to monitor activity. In the next phase of the treatment, painless electrical signals are sent to the weakened pelvic muscles, causing them to contract effectively. These contractions help retrain the muscles and decrease the symptoms of urinary incontinence. The key to success is correct identification, isolation and contraction of the pelvic muscles followed by a muscle relaxation phase.
What is biofeedback therapy?
Biofeedback is a training technique in which you watch a display screen of the muscles contracting as they are exercised. A sensor evaluates muscle strength and allows the muscle contraction to be seen on a display screen. This helps you and your healthcare professional determine if you are using the correct muscles.
I did Kegel exercises on my own and was not able to control my bladder problems. Why should I consider treatment with the evadri Bladder Control System?
The evadri System helps ensure that you are using the correct muscles and using them effectively. Many patients who achieve successful bladder control with the type of treatment provided by the evadri System have previously tried Kegel exercises on their own. The assistance and coaching of a medical professional may help you retrain the pelvic muscles that support and help control bladder function. The key to success is correct identification, isolation and contraction of the pelvic muscles followed by a muscle relaxation phase.
Does it hurt?
The evadri System is safe and well-tolerated. Treatment with the evadri System is administered by healthcare professionals who are trained to help you get the best results from your sessions.
How long until the therapy starts to work?
With a home exercise program that includes symptom-related exercises and regular visits to a healthcare professional, some patients have noticed improved bladder control within as little as six weeks.4
How often do I need evadri therapy?
Treatment with the evadri System usually consists of a series of six to eight office visits, each lasting approximately 30 to 45 minutes. Some people may need follow-up sessions after their initial treatment regimen.
Is it expensive?
Medicare and many private insurance carriers cover office treatment with the evadri System, where medically reasonable and necessary. Hollister is actively working with insurers to make sure this effective treatment is available to patients who need it most. Coverage policies are constantly revised and updated so be sure to check with your physician.
How long has this therapy been available?
The type of therapy offered with the evadri System has been available since 1991. In the United States, thousands of patients have been treated.
How successful is the therapy?
The type of therapy provided by the evadri System helps restore bladder control without the side effects of drug therapy or the recovery time associated with surgery. In a study using the type of treatment provided with the evadri System along with a complete training program, 78 percent of women felt that bladder control problems no longer restricted their activities.1,5
In fact, when used with a complete training program in another study, the treatment approach offered with the evadri System produced such positive results that more than 95 percent of women aged 55 to 92 chose to continue this care indefinitely.4,5
My doctor says that pelvic exercises have been tried for several years, but the results have not been impressive. How can I get him to at least let me try the therapy?
The pelvic exercise technique promoted by Dr. Arnold Kegel, a California gynecologist, in the late 1940s has been modified over the years. Some researchers in the field of incontinence believe that there are primarily two reasons why some people label the exercises as ineffective:
- The exercises are not properly taught
- The need for regular exercise is not effectively reinforced5
In a study of women between the ages of 29 and 64, it was found that biofeedback, or using a screen to monitor muscle contractions, was a more effective training tool, as compared to just receiving verbal instructions about performing Kegels. The group using screens to monitor their contractions demonstrated an average of 75.9 percent reduction of incontinence, significantly greater than the 51 percent reduction that was seen in the group who only received verbal instructions.10
Another study found that less than half of the women given verbal instructions about how to perform pelvic exercises were actually able to perform an ideal Kegel.11
The evadri System is designed to help you correctly identify and isolate the pelvic muscles that are important for good bladder control. Working with a healthcare professional, many women are able to learn how to effectively contract and relax their pelvic muscles.
If your physician is unwilling to try the type of therapy provided by the evadri System, please call our toll free number at 800-443-6313, or visit our physician locator. The physicians identified on the physician locator have considerable experience with this type of therapy.
The best results from treatment with the evadri System are really dependent upon you. If you are willing to take control of your body by doing the proper exercises, and actively participate in a complete program to help regain bladder control, you will give yourself the best opportunity for success.
How do I find a physician who offers therapy with the evadri System?Please call our toll free number at 800-443-6313, or visit our physician locator.
| 1. | Goode PS et al. JAMA 2003; 290:345-352 |
| 4. | Burgio KL et al. JAMA.1998;280:1995-2000 |
| 5. | Newman, D.K. (1999) The Urinary Incontinence Sourcebook (2nd edition). Los Angeles: Lowell House. |
| 10. | Burgio KL et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol.1986; 154(1):58-64. |
| 11. | Bump RC et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1991;165:322-329. |
