New Treatments for Incontinence

Our new treatments for incontinence use products from In-Control Medical of Wisconsin, leaders in incontinence research. The products, called Apex and InTone, and are proven non-surgical solutions for bladder leakage.

One in three women suffers from some form of bladder leakage according to the National Association for Continence. Women may lose bladder control when they laugh, cough, or exercise due to stress incontinence. The loss of control may be only a few drops of leakage or it may be total loss of control, depending on the severity of the problem. This type of incontinence occurs when the muscles and tissue that help support the bladder become weak. These muscles can lose strength due to vaginal childbirth, hormonal changes, high-impact exercise, multiple pregnancies, being overweight, and chronic cough.  Even having just one child can lead to some form of leakage, but even minor leakage may become worse over time.

The Apex and InTone products have proven very successful in helping women control their incontinence and get their lives back. Both products can be used for stress incontinence, and the Apex product is especially helpful for new moms affected by incontinence issues. The InTone device can also be used for urge incontinence (for people who need to go suddenly or frequently) and mixed incontinence, for women who have symptoms of both urge and stress incontinence.

The treatments use muscle stimulation via an inserted device, combined with exercises and biofeedback. Treatment usually takes 14 to 26 weeks and includes periodic provider visits to chart progress. Treatment continues until continence is achieved.


Commonly Asked Questions About Apex and InTone

What is InTone? What is Apex?
InTone is a medical device that treats your bladder leakage using the most effective, non-invasive strategies available. It combines proven technologies to treat stress, urge and mixed incontinence. An inflatable probe is inserted to aid in muscle stimulation for building strength so you can stop leakage when coughing, laughing, or exercising. Stimulation also calms spasms of the bladder muscle that cause the symptoms of urgency. InTone is connected to a computer which provides biofeedback advice and records your sessions.

Apex is similar to InTone in terms of type of device and how it works, but Apex is designed specifically for use with stress incontinence, while InTone can be used with all types of incontinence. Apex is also less technical in its approach; it inflates and is used for the same exercises but is not connected to a computer. If stress incontinence patients have trouble mastering the exercises with the Apex, they can switch to InTone with its computerized guidance.

What does InTone do?
InTone combines voice-guided pelvic floor exercises, visual biofeedback and muscle stimulation to strengthen your pelvic floor and stop spasms of the bladder muscle. If you have a strong pelvic floor muscle you can sneeze, cough, laugh and exercise without leaking.

How does InTone work?
Muscle stimulation is customized by your provider to ensure proper muscle activation when using InTone; this works in conjunction with voice-guided pelvic floor exercises using visual biofeedback to improve your performance. After your initial doctor’s visit, you will pursue the InTone course of treatment in the privacy of your home, returning for follow-up visits as indicated by your provider.

How do I use InTone?
InTone voice-guides your entire 12-minute home session, using the same directions that a provider would use during your visit. You will strengthen your pelvic floor muscles by contracting as indicated by the directions coming from the hand-held voice unit, as well as the deep muscle stimulation provided by the InTone device. Data from each session is stored in the voice-guided unit and will be discussed with your provider at your follow-up visits so your treatment can continue to be customized.  These home-based sessions will be done just 12 minutes a day, six days per week.

How often are follow-up visits?
The first one will be two-weeks after your initial visit to assess your progress and make any adjustments. Additional visits are recommended to occur at 30-day intervals, depending on your specific diagnosis.

How long is treatment?
Fourteen weeks is usually required for stress incontinence and 26 weeks for urge or mixed incontinence. Most patients continue with follow-up visits every other month for the remainder of the year. Once maximum continence has been achieved, you will use InTone twice weekly to ensure no loss of functional gains.