Perifit pelvic floor trainer review

AD|GIFTED

When I was pregnant with my first child one of the pieces of advice I was given from midwives and mum’s in the know was to do my pelvic floor exercises.

Whilst the advice was wise and I made sure to religiously exercise my pelvic floor after having my son I joined the club of mum’s who can’t  jump on a trampoline without a little leakage happening and have to to cross their legs before sneezing.

In spite of regularly doing my pelvic floor exercises, trying Kegel pelvic exercise weights and looking at natural remedies for urinary continence after two children my pelvic floor has never quite been the same as pre-children. Whilst I thankfully only suffer from mild incontinence, as I would like improve it so that I don’t have to worry when sneezing I am always looking for ways to strengthen my pelvic floor.

As a sufferer of urinary incontinence and because there is sadly still a taboo surrounding the condition I am always keen to highlight urinary incontinence and products to help.

Perifit

Perifit is a kegel exerciser with app that is designed to help users strengthen their pelvic floor. As the creators of Perifit believe that your pelvic floor is a priority they designed the Perifit device and app to help heal the pelvic floor.

Knowing that kegel exercises strengthen the pelvic floor but that it is difficult to know if you are exercising the right muscles, Perifit and it’s complimentary app was designed to show users that they are exercising the correct muscles and showcase improvement.

Perifit device

Recommended by doctors Perifit is a FDA and CE approved medical device. Made from medical grade silicone the device feels soft and smooth. Designed to fit all body types and accurately measure pelvic floor strength the device is only 26mm wide.

Perifit is an unique pelvic floor trainer as it features two pressure sensors. These sensors are designed to monitor and strengthen both the deep and superficial pelvic floor layers. As Perifit helps train the entire pelvic floor it helps users achieve significant and durable results quickly.

The device is helpful for women who are wanting to prevent pelvic floor disorders, stop stress incontinence, treat overactive bladders, achieve faster postnatal recovery, heal prolapse without surgery and/or enhance intimage wellbeing.

Perifit app

Perifit is an innovative device that has been created to work with a free Perifit app which is available on both android and ios. The app focuses on encouraging users to exercise regularly and properly both of which are important for seeing significant results from kegel exercises. To help users do their kegel exercises properly which is vital for positive results the app features detailed instructions, manual mode, biofeedback training, assessment and training programs.

How to use

Thanks to the Perifit app which features easy to understand instructions on how to use the device as well as how to correctly do kegel exercises, using the device to train your pelvic floor is easy.

It only takes three simple steps to use the Perifit - connect, insert and play.

Using bluetooth technology you connect the device to the app on your smartphone. Simply turn on the device by pressing the power button on the base of the device and make sure the lotus pattern’s green LED is blinking.

You then insert the device into your vagina. Only the first and second ball should remain inside your body with the white oval shaped cover should be positioned upright rather than side to side. As the white wire is the bluetooth antenna you should ensure it is positioned away from the body and in range of your smartphone. To help you correctly practise your pelvic floor exercises and for comfort it is best to use the device when lying down. If needed a water based lubricant can be used when inserting the Perifit.

When you are ready you then simply press START to begin the training program. Each exercise features a clear and simple explanation so that you understand how to train.

To care for the device as it is waterproof you can simply wash the Perifit with soap and water after each use. Perifit sell an accessory pack that includes a medical lubricant, antibacterial cleaning gel and storage bag.

I have the found the Perifit device easy to use. It inserts smoothly, painlessly, stays in well and is comfortable. Having used the device everyday for a few weeks now I have not had any issues whatsoever with the device connecting to the app with it working seamlessly everytime. If any issues arise the app features a troubleshooting section.

Pelvic floor test and training programs

Thanks to the Perifit pelvic floor test which was a series of questions I was able to learn what type of incontinence I suffer from (mixed incontinence) and select the perfect training program to suit my pelvic floor needs.

To help women of differing pelvic floor health Perifit has been created with five training programs that were designed by world-class pelvic floor experts -

* Prevention: this program will strengthen your pelvic floor to prevent pelvic floor disorders

* Stress incontinence: this program will reduce small leaks of urine while coughing, sneezing, running or laughing

* Overactive bladder: this program will reduce the strong, sudden urge to urinate just before losing a large amount of urine

* Mixed incontinence: this program will provide both of the benefits from the stress incontinence and overactive bladder program

* Post-pregnancy: this program will boost your recovery from childbirth

* Intimate wellbeing: this program will help you have faster and more powerful orgasms

Each training program features 10 difficulty levels which are designed to help pelvic floor health improve.

Games

To practice your kegel exercises and progress through the training program you can use the device and the app to play games. Created with different difficulty levels and varying exercise patterns to work out and strengthen your pelvic floor, the games are designed to make doing your kegel exercises fun and showcase your pelvic floor being exercised and how contracting and relaxing the muscles effects the game.

Not only are the games designed to be fun they also encourage you to practice your kegel exercises. In addition they provide biofeedback so that you can see statistics of how your pelvic floor compares to healthy pelvic floors in key areas - force, frequency, accuracy, stamina and release, as well as displaying in easy to understand graphs your pelvic floor health progression.

Currently the app features three games - catch the lotus, manage the gate and flappy bird. More games are being developed including Jetpack. For those who do not enjoy animated games Perifit are creating an uncluttered, simple graphics biofeedback training program that encourages users to do the same exercises as the games.

Catch the lotus

This is the first game I played using the device. The idea is simple, you control a bird or butterfly depending on the level of the game so that you catch all the sparkling lotuses and avoid any obstacles.

To move the bird/butterfly as it flies through the scrolling game you contract your pelvic floor to fly up and to fly down you relax your pelvic floor.  The strength of your pelvic floor contractions will determine who high up the bird/butterfly flies up and how quickly you can relax the muscles will show how quickly it flies back down.

The graphics of the game are uncomplicated and feature pretty backgrounds with the theme of the game changing as you progress through the difficulty levels. As you progress through the difficulty levels the patterns of the lotuses change so that your pelvic floor is exercised in different ways which helps encourage improved pelvic floor health. The game features a cheery little tune which so far I have not found annoying but if you did you could simply mute it.

I have really enjoyed playing this game. Whilst there is an element of repetitiveness as practising kegel exercises demands you to repeat them again and again for them to be effective, the game needs to have a repetitive element for it to help your pelvic floor health. Plus as the themes and lotus patterns change as your progress through the different difficulty levels there are always new challenges to master.

Manage the gate

The aim of the game is to move the clouds to stop the rocks reaching the top and let the sparkling gems reach the sky. For every gem that reaches the top you get a point. If you block a gem with the clouds it drops out of the sky.

Relaxing and contracting your pelvic floor muscles effects the clouds in the game. When you relax the muscles the gap between the clouds grow. When you contract the muscles the clouds come closer.

The game is simple yet engaging. I find it great for testing my accuracy as well as improving how good I am at releasing and relaxing the muscles.

Flappy bird

The latest game on the Perifit app is flappy bird. Working in the same style as the original flappy bird you have to control the bird and move it between the pipes. This version of flappy bird is special as instead of using a controller you control the bird using your pelvic floor muscles.

If you move the bird past a pipe without hitting it you get a point which adds to your final score. But if you hit a pipe the little flappy bird spins in a confused state.

All of the games have been fun to play and I appreciate the fact that there are a few different games to play for variety. The games are not too long to play and you find out at the end of the game whether you have unlocked another theme or level and how well you did.

When I have mastered a level I have felt a sense of accomplishment and seeing the progression charts has given me a boost of confidence that the kegel exercises are helping improve my pelvic floor health.

The games have not only helped me practice kegel exercises more regularly but they also helped me to focus on exercising the right muscles and encourage me to vary the force and speed of contractions. Learning to vary the strength of a contraction and improve the speed of release for accurate game play has been challenging yet beneficial for my pelvic floor health.

Manual mode

If you don’t want to play the games you can practice your kegel exercises with the manual mode. You simply contract and relax the muscles which moves the line up and down.

I love the manual mode as you get to see your pelvic floor contracting in real time and get to see how strong it is. Interestingly it also displays the contractions of both your superficial and deep pelvic floor layers.

Statistics

To help keep you motivated and showcase the performance of your pelvic floor muscles when exercising the app features statistics. It displays detailed statistics which highlights how your pelvic floor compares to a healthy pelvic floor. It also shows stats for your deep and superficial pelvic floor layers with the aim being to be in the safe zone.

The app also highlights your progression looking at five key metrics - force, stamina, precision, release and frequency. I love this feature as it lets you compare your performance from your first training session to your latest. Seeing how I have progressed and improved is a confidence boost and makes the training worthwhile.

In the near future the app will also feature ranking stats so that you can see how your performance compares to other Perifit users.

Last thoughts

I love the Perifit kegel exerciser and app. It is a novel, fun way to do my kegel exercises and the innovative device has already helped to improve my pelvic floor in only a few weeks with my force, release and accuracy all showing great improvement to when I first started, so much so that when I unexpectedly sneezed the other day I was surprised not to have a little leak!! I am delighted to have a Perifit in my life and hope to see yet more improvement and progression to help me have a healthier pelvic floor.

If you want to try Perifit yourself it can be purchased on the Perifit website. It has an RRP of £151 and is available to purchase with  free shipping. For piece of mind it comes with a 100 day money back guarantee. The Perifit accessory pack costs £22.

Win a Perifit

The wonderful people at Perifit have kindly offered 1 Perifit kegel exerciser worth £151 as a prize. For a chance to win a Perifit to improve your pelvic floor health please complete the form below -

Perifit