- January 22, 2025
Most women after natural birth have pelvic floor muscle damage, which in many cases is associated with symptoms of stress urinary incontinence. This ailment also affects 60-70 percent of women over 60 years of age. Doctors warn that few women with this problem report for treatment. Modern technologies can help in the fight against this ailment.
According to studies, the problem of urinary incontinence may affect about 10% of the population. It is much more common among women. 80% of women after natural birth have pelvic floor muscle damage, of which 35%-50% will develop symptoms of stress urinary incontinence. This problem often affects women over the age of 60. Awareness of the need for prophylaxis in this respect is, however, low among Polish women, and the average time from the onset of symptoms to the commencement of therapy is as long as nine years.
- Awareness of women in the field of pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation is certainly a big challenge. The problem of stress urinary incontinence and other female incontinence has only recently begun to be openly discussed," says Newseria Biznes Anna Poświata from PelviFly.
In mid-July this year, a group of investors gathered in the Black Swan Fund at the Women's Entrepreneurial Network invested in the development of the PelviFly project supporting the therapy and prevention of pelvic floor muscles. This telemedicine solution is intended to help women consciously take care of their bodies.
- Every day we develop telemedicine in the field of pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation," says Anna Poświata. - We are currently implementing a telemedicine platform and an application mainly for dysfunctions such as stress urinary incontinence and small pelvic organ prolapse. So far, our cooperation with the medical sector has been very positive.
The project of Urszula Wójtowicz, president of Force Feminite Foundation, has been developed from the very beginning in cooperation with an engineering team from Stanford University. Pelvic floor muscle training is aimed at various target groups, for example, women preparing for pregnancy, after childbirth, overweight, menopause, regular running or competitive sportsmen.
As a result of the therapy, ailments such as prolapse or lowering of the reproductive organs, acute and chronic back pain, haemorrhoids, constipation, degeneration and hip deformities, pelvic floor weakness after childbirth, perineal incision or caesarean section, difficulties with orgasm, vaginal dilatation, pain during intercourse are minimized.
PelviFly aims to enable women to train effectively at home under the supervision of a specialist. This is done through a mobile application that provides the patient with biofeedback, a telemedicine platform and video conferencing functions.
- The implementation of the whole solution has been very successful for the time being. Doctors, mainly gynaecologists, but also physiotherapists are very well prepared for it - praises Anna Poświata. - We will see how the whole thing will be accepted by the patients. We place a strong emphasis on scientific research, because we want to rely solely on scientific medicine. The first groups of patients have already been examined, but we are awaiting further actions of this kind. We will steer the development of the company in this direction. First of all, we want to introduce our solutions in the country.
PelviFly's development plans currently include the implementation of telemedicine service in each province. The next step may be a possible expansion into foreign markets.
- Technology is a certain barrier. The problem of stress urinary incontinence also affects older women, and our solution requires the use of a smartphone and other modern technologies. We believe, however, that a kind of distance to them does not result from the age of reluctance, but from slower adaptation - says Anna Poświata.
PelviFly was presented, among others, during the International Medical Fair WIHE 2016.
