Counting PFM exercises

One of the things my patients complain about the most is the difficulty in counting the number of seconds holding and resting while keeping track of how many PFM exercises they have done. “In the old day” I would pull out my little cassette player and sit in the back room recoding my voice counting and instructing specifically for a patient. With the departure of cassette I have been able to create electronic files with some of the instructions (3 second hold, 5 second hold and 10 second hold) available for free on my web site. http://www.bethshelly.com/free_resources.html Scroll down to the center of the page – files take a bit to load so be patient. (PS I am looking for someone with audio skills to help combine the files into sets. Contact me by email at beth@bethshelly.com if you know of someone who could help).


Smart phone technology can also be helpful. I have little experience myself but have heard of several patients and PTs who find these programs helpful. Some have a small cost and some are free. There may be more so keep searching – key words “Kegel exercises”, “Pelvic floor exercises”. Would love to hear your feedback and how patients are using them.

Iphone

• MK – this is the one my patient likes best. It is actually a timer and can be programmed

• Pelvic Health – just information and not helpful for completing PFM exercises

Android

• Kegel muscle – visual for contraction and basic home program which can be customized

• Kegel counter – not very user friendly

Thanks to Jenn Davia for reviewing Android apps. Hope to add more. Post your comments.