Uresta

You don’t have to accept incontinence

/by

A chat with Missy Lavender about uresta®

We asked a well-known women’s pelvic health evangelist and national speaker on public health, Missy Lavender,  if she could talk to us about women’s pelvic health and uresta®, a relatively new product to help women manage stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Missy, a passionate advocate for pelvic health education, fitness and programs for all women and girls, was happy to share her views.

Q:  What are your first impressions of uresta® ?

Missy:  The thing I most appreciate about uresta® is the ability for women to have control over their bodies with the sizing kit. When it comes to pessaries, the size is important and the sizing is not what you’d think!  Being able to find the size that works for you puts managing incontinence back in the hands of women. They can get the uresta® starter kit, try it – they don’t have to go to the doctor or go back to the doctor to achieve a proper fit.

Q:  How does uresta® stack up against other options for tackling SUI?

Missy:  I love that uresta® is reusable & comfortable – some pessaries can be really uncomfortable.  Being reusable, you save so much money over other products that are disposable.  This “green factor” keeps so much waste out of the landfill.

It’s very exciting to see companies creating truly innovative products for women who experience light bladder leakage (LBL) (aka SUI).  uresta® is both innovative and good – another great tool in your tool kit.

Q:  What are some of the misconceptions about SUI?

Missy:  Women seem to think that SUI is normal – because they’ve had a baby, they’re getting older, because they are woman. You don’t have to accept incontinence. SUI is common but not normal and there are options to minimize it. There is no magic pill. Understanding your body is important.

Women easily get defeated by incontinence and start shutting down their life. They need to understand what is happening and find out all the possible solutions to deal with the issue.

I’ve always felt that physiotherapy is a great first line option for maintaining pelvic health. Nobody loves kegels but they work when you do them! If you are unsure you are doing them correctly, or need a coach, this is where your physiotherapist or your doctor come in.

Q:  Tell us more about your most recent project, Below Your Belt.

Missy:  We recently published a book, Below Your Belt: A Girl’s Guide To Pelvic Health has just been launched. So now we’re fundraising to create an app aimed at young girls but with a message that everyone needs to know. You can read more about the project here.

We want to educate girls about their own body; including everything that happens below the belt; bladder, bowel, periods, hygiene – it’s pelvic health 101. This app is important – it will bring the  information to the small screens of our key target audience – 10-14 year-old girls. (And yes, some of the grown-ups don’t know this stuff either!)  Below Your Belt is changing the world one pelvic floor at a time!

More about Missy Lavender

Missy was the Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Health Foundation, passionate advocates for pelvic health education, fitness and programs to all women and girls before launching Below Your Belt. Missy is a national speaker on pelvic health and has been featured in numerous press outlets, print, radio, and television, recently featured as one of Chicago’s top 100 “Women of Inspiration,” in Today’s Chicago Woman Magazine.

She is the author of four books, You Go Girl…But Only When You Want To! and You Go Girl…But Only When You Want To! Senior Edition, Below Your Belt and Riding the Potty Train: Better Bathroom Behaviors for Little Girls. 

A mother of two, Ms. Lavender holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

About uresta®
The uresta® bladder support gives you back your life – it helps significantly reduce or stop leaks so you can start living again. The uresta® bladder support is a safe, simple and easy-to-use reusable that significantly reduces or stops leaks. In clinical studies, 17 out of 20 saw a significant reduction in leaking while leaks were completely eliminated for 6 out of 10 women.

Uresta

Frankie’s Story ~ a urology nurse with solutions

/by

As a nurse specialist working the area of urinary incontinence and a board representative of The Urology Nurses Of Canada, I have seen many women of all ages suffer from the stigmatizing problem of urinary incontinence. There are many different approaches we can suggest for this problem including lifestyle changes, behavioral approaches, dietary modifications and pelvic floor exercises.

When a women suffers from stress incontinence (the type of leaking that occurs when you cough, sneeze , laugh or lift ), it is often beneficial for them to use a self-fitting pessary such as uresta®.

I have seen women change their whole lives around with these devices. Often women will stop activities they enjoy, like dancing, going to the gym, walking and running, as they try to control their bladder symptoms. When they use  uresta®, they are able to return to these activities.

I have seen very young women use uresta® including a woman who was training for a marathon and only needed to use it during training, when she usually leaked.  Other women  use uresta®  at the gym because  they leak during exercise. I have seen women who have jobs that involve lifting and they can wear uresta® comfortably all day long.

It’s very user friendly, easy to self-fit and very comfortable. Some women actually forget to take it out at night as they forget they have it in!

uresta® has made a 100% difference to many women that are now able to have a “normal “ social life and return to all their activities without the stress and embarrassment of leaking!

Frankie Bates
Urology Nurses Of Canada
Vice-president East

Uresta

Ask a Physiotherapist ~ those distressing, embarrassing leaks are NOT normal

/by

By Christine Haley, BSc., PT

Whether you are 27, 46 or 70, embarrassing leaks are nothing short of distressing!

Urinary incontinence is defined as any involuntary loss of urine. It is a common and distressing problem which may have a profound effect on quality of life of both men and women.

Many people believe urinary incontinence is a normal part of aging when in fact it is not. Others may be embarrassed to talk about incontinence and therefore do not seek medical advice. Many will feel embarrassed due to unpleasant odors or the fear of losing bladder control therefore avoid going out. This can lead to isolation and depression. The good news is urinary incontinence is almost always secondary to an underlying treatable condition.

The most common urinary incontinence called “stress incontinence” is secondary to insufficient strength of the pelvic floor musculature. If you suffer from this condition, you will note involuntary loss of urine with coughing, sneezing or laughing. Sometimes leakage will occur with lifting, jumping, running or even fast walking or bending. This scenario can, but not always, be compounded by another type of incontinence called “urge incontinence”. It is described as episodic and often unusually frequent distressing urges to urinate.

These types of incontinence respond very well to physiotherapy treatment. The physiotherapy program for this commonly seen condition is strengthening of the weakened pelvic floor musculature, behavioral modification, education, muscle stimulation and biofeedback. You may also be given advice regarding general conditioning which has been found to enhance the recovery process. The compliant patient will most often see a complete recovery.

There is currently a new product on the market called “uresta”. Dr. Scott Farrell, urogynecologist from Halifax, has created this device. It is a bladder support that the female client inserts to help control stress incontinence.

Historically, one would have to see a gynecologist or urologist for this but this new innovation, in conjunction with physiotherapy, has eliminated the inconvenience of wait times. You can be symptom free during this time.

If you suffer from any urinary incontinence, seek medical advice to determine the cause and pursue the necessary treatment to alleviate this condition. Be sure to find a physiotherapist specially trained in treating urinary incontinence.

by Christine Haley, BSc., PT
Keystone Physiotherapy
Keays-Thompson-Haley
506-858-8644

Uresta

The problem is embarrassing and uncomfortable…

/by

Rachel Cave, of CBC New Brunswick News, talks to Anne Marie Picone Ford and Christine Haley about the common (and often distressing) problem of bladder leakage in women – and the Uresta solution…

Read the CBC article… Shediac company set to go global with incontinence device.

Uresta

Uresta is a Game Changer

/by

“Over the moon” excitement at recent Uresta info sessions

By Carol Chapman

I’m still reeling from the overwhelming response to two Uresta information sessions we held this week in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Dr. Denise Black, a highly respected gynecologist and active educator on women’s health invited women’s health professionals from across Winnipeg to attend information sessions about Uresta.

Dr. Black has organized many of these types of sessions in the past and was surprised to see the enthusiastic uptake on the invitations. Running at full capacity, the attendees of the sessions, sponsored by an International Pharma Company,  were given prep work in advance – to read some of Dr. Farrell’s research – so the attendees would be well prepared after the session to have good Q&As and a meaningful dialogue about Uresta.

The attendees, mostly women, were nurse practitioners, pharmacists, general practitioners and pelvic floor physiotherapists – a real cross-section. They were amazed at the Uresta solution for women with bladder leakage caused by stress urinary incontinence. There seemed to be a lot of interest around Uresta because there just isn’t a real solution to this problem – until now.

The second night, the attendees were mostly gynecologists – and mostly women!  Attendance had to be cut off as the venue was filled to capacity. I have never seen such an engaged audience for a Uresta presentation – and many were there for over three hours! The main topic of discussion among these women’s health professionals was clear;  this issue is so underserved and the Uresta product is such an important solution because of how it affects women.

What I’m hearing from these professionals over and over again…Uresta is a game-changer – it will change women’s lives. They want to be a part of this. And they are very excited about this Canadian solution – invented by a Canadian, manufactured in Canada and owned by Resilia, an Atlantic Canadian Company.

Right now these professionals don’t have anything to offer their patients/clients for bladder leakage caused by stress urinary incontinence. And many of the women in the room straddle being someone suffering with incontinence themselves and being physicians that help other women with incontinence. They totally “get” this product and the incredible solution that it is for women, including themselves!

The attendees left these sessions wanting more information, ready to make this available to women.

Dr. Black said, “I don’t often get to be excited about something.” She’s a surgeon and knows the surgery to correct stress urinary incontinence can have horrific outcomes. She feels it’s insanity that, up until now, we didn’t have a better solution for women.

In a nutshell, these professionals in Winnipeg who have an interest and passion for women’s health are over the moon excited about our product. Not only is there serious interest in Uresta, there is a pent up demand for a product like this.

I actually had two attendees show interest in investing in the company and the samples of Uresta were being grabbed up NOT only for their patients, but for THEMSELVES!! They most definitely want Uresta to be available to women in Manitoba!

And I arrived home to New Brunswick to see that CBC just published a story about Resilia – A Shediac company that markets a rubber stopper-like device to prevent involuntary bladder leakage in women is setting its sights on the global market. Read the full story here.  It’s been a fabulous week for Resilia, Uresta, and women’s health!

Uresta

Don’t Let Incontinence Run Your Life

/by

by Nelly Faghani, Registered Physiotherapist
Pelvic Health Solutions

It has been proven that exercise—running especially—has health benefits well beyond any pill a doctor could prescribe. Sadly, women often stop exercising as a result of bladder leakage, also called incontinence. They feel embarrassed and suffer in silence, thinking the condition can’t be treated or that it is a “normal” part of aging.

Starting the Conversation

Ladies, let’s break the silence. Incontinence is common, but it is not normal. There are simple, low-cost, real-time, non-surgical solutions that women need to know about. For starters, many don’t understand the meaning of the word “incontinence”. Let’s demystify the medical jargon. Stress incontinence is a small “spurt” of urine that occurs when you cough, laugh, sneeze or do physical activity (such as running). Urge incontinence (also known as overactive bladder syndrome) is the sudden loss of bladder control just after an overwhelming urge to go pee. Mixed incontinence is when women suffer from both.

The Pelvic Floor

American gynecologist Dr. Arnold Kegel brought the world’s attention to the group of muscles called the pelvic floor that are like a hammock or sling, supporting the bladder, uterus, prostate and rectum. Dr. Kegel noted that a woman’s pelvic floor muscles were weakened by childbirth and prescribed his famous “Kegel exercises” to women as a non-surgical treatment. Frustration with doing Kegels, uncertainty of how to do them properly, or not seeing results has left many of us feeling hopeless, so we just keep wearing pads or stop exercising altogether.

Guidelines for Kegels

When the pelvic floor muscles are weak, they need to be strengthened through a structured strengthening program. This doesn’t mean doing a few Kegels at the kitchen sink or at a stoplight and, contrary to what many women are told, you should never do these exercises by stopping your urine mid-stream. An extreme approach that suggests doing 1000 reps a day has no basis in exercise science either. Start by following the same rules you do when doing weight training at the gym: 3 sets of 10 repetitions daily for about 12 weeks. You can do them daily because, unlike weight training at the gym, you don’t add weights to increase the effort. So, daily exercise is safe until those annoying leaks stop.

How do you know that you’re doing them correctly? The best way to know for sure is to see a professional, like a physiotherapist, who has the appropriate training to confirm you are doing the exercises properly. They’ll do an internal exam to assess the state of the muscles and let you know how well you’re doing your Kegels. Research shows that strengthening pelvic floor muscles with the guidance of a pelvic health physiotherapist has an effectiveness rate of 80%.

Other Options

Pessaries are another great tool for managing incontinence. Until now, all pessaries had to be fitted and inserted by a medical professional. A self-fitting pessary, specifically for stress incontinence, was recently launched. The uresta® pessary is designed for comfort, safety and ease of use. It can be used all day or only for the activities that cause leaks, and can be a safe, low-cost solution for women who don’t respond to exercise or who can’t access a pelvic health physiotherapist.

Surgery is for the 20% of women who can’t improve their symptoms with strength training or the use of a pessary alone. Surgery should be approached cautiously based on the latest available evidence.

Female runners may also have the opposite problem of tight pelvic floor muscles. By nature of their sport, runners develop tight hip, low back and pelvic floor muscles. In these cases, doing Kegels may worsen the problem. These women should consult a pelvic floor physiotherapist to assess if they have tension in these muscles before starting Kegels or inserting a self-fitting pessary. Symptoms of this type of tension would be mixed incontinence, overactive bladder, pain with intercourse, or generalized pain in the pelvic region or hips.

Start the conversation with your girlfriends, your doctor, your pelvic health physiotherapist or your nurse practitioner.  You are not alone! Don’t let embarrassment stop you from doing the sport you love.

from: www.therunningroom.com

Uresta

Shediac company wins award for female incontinence product

/by

A Shediac-owned company has won a national award for its product that offers women a solution to urinary incontinence caused by pressure on the bladder from activities such as running, sneezing and coughing.

Resilia’s product, called Uresta, has earned a 2016 Product of the Year Canada award in the adult care incontinence category.

Canada is one of 40 countries to host the Product of the Year awards, which were founded in 1987 in France by former L’Oreal executive Christian Le-Bret. The awards, backed by Rogers Media in Canada, feature a jury of industry experts who select category finalists from innovative company product entries.

Canadian consumers then vote an online survey conducted by Rogers Custom Research Group. Winners can use the Product of the Year Canada designation for marketing businesses.

Resilia’s product, Uresta, now has the red seal approval. Uresta is a resin stopper, like a reusable tampon, that women can insert into their vagina. Its bell shape prevents the urethra muscle – a valve to the bladder – from opening at inopportune moments such as when women cough, sneeze or exercise. It can be worn during the day but should be removed before going to sleep at night. It’s washable, and each stopper lasts about a year. Women can still urinate normally with it inserted.

About one in three women over the age of 30 are estimated to have light bladder leakage, also referred to medically as stress urinary incontinence, according to Resilia’s literature.

Carol Chapman of Shediac, Resilia’s vice-president of marketing, said it wasn’t until she brought up the issue with a group of women she goes running with, that she realized how common the problem is. “I would say to people, ‘Do you have this issue, stress incontinence?’ And they would say, ‘Oh yes, I basically run and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I pee,’ ” she said, adding that some women use menstrual pads to catch the leak while others practise pelvic floor exercises to help reduce the problem.

However, Uresta, which was designed by Dalhousie University urogynecologist Dr. Scott A. Farrell and purchased two years ago by Resilia, is meant to offer a solution. “Basically, it is the only device that exists like it in the world,” said Chapman. “It just happens that we bought this from Dr. Farrell.”

For the past two years, the company has been preparing to manufacture the product in larger quantities; last year about 1,000 were sold in Canada and the United States, said Chapman. Now, they are able to sell about 50,000 a year.

A starter kit, which includes three stoppers in three different sizes, along with a case, costs about $260 and is covered by a majority of private health plans, said Chapman. She said it’s fairly easy to use. “It’s a bit like your first tampon – it’s trial and error,” she said. “You go into the ladies room, you try it, if you can walk around and you cannot feel it and you do not leak, you’re good to go.”

She said the sizes in the starter kit will fit about 80 per cent of women. If a woman finds she needs a size smaller or larger, the company will send it free of charge. Replacements cost about $160.

by LAURA BOOTH TIMES & TRANSCRIPT, April 21, 2016

Photo: Laura Booth/Times & Transccript

Uresta

uresta® Named Product of The Year Canada 2016

/by

(Moncton) – Resilia Inc., the makers of uresta® Bladder Support for Women are excited to announce that uresta® has been awarded the 2016 Product of the Year Canada TM seal of approval. uresta® is a simple, safe, solution for women suffering from light bladder leakage (“LBL”), clinically known of as “stress urinary incontinence” (“SUI”).

“We’re thrilled to be named product of the year in the Adult Incontinence Category,” says Carol Chapman, Vice President of Marketing for Resilia. “Canadians are discovering that uresta® is different from other SUI products. It’s comfortable, it’s discreet and when women wear it, they feel confident, self‐assured and dry. Our unique patented product offers women the best solution available on the market today and it’s 100% Canadian developed and manufactured.”

uresta® is an innovative solution that gives women the freedom to enjoy life without having to worry about leaks. And what’s more, uresta®’s design also ensures that women stay dry, odour free and avoid filling up landfills with disposable products.

uresta® was invented by world‐renowned Urogynecologist Dr. Scott A. Farrell, MD FRCSC Professor, Division Head‐ Gynecology, Clinical Division: Urogynecology, Dalhousie University.

“Stress urinary incontinence is something that many women deal with, and they often deal with it in secret,” says Chapman. “And the thing is, it’s so common that we should be talking about real solutions that work for women. That’s why we’re so proud of uresta®, and the fact that it’s been recognized as a Product of the Year. This is a little product that has a big impact on the quality of life for women. No more pads. No more self‐consciousness. I’m excited for what this means for vibrant, active women everywhere.”

uresta® is available at many Canadian and US retail locations and online. For more information, visit www.uresta.com.

About Product of the Year Canada

Product of the Year TM is the world’s largest consumer‐voted award for product innovation. Product of the Year is a champion of innovation, is voted on by consumers and is recognized globally! Product of the Year currently operates in 40 countries with the same goal: to guide consumers to the most innovative products in their market and reward the entrants for quality and innovation.

In Canada, the Product of the Year seal is backed by the votes of thousands of Canadian consumers, serving as a shortcut for shoppers to save time and money. For entrants of the winning products, the award is a powerful marketing message proven to increase product awareness, trial and quality. www.productoftheyear.ca.

Media Contact:

Carol Chapman
506‐961‐3449