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Nurse Practitioner Dale Ann Dorsey explains how the Athena PMT is used and whether this can replicate Kegel exercises. She also discusses the muscles affected by the Athena PMT and how this can improve urinary incontinence.
Dale Ann Dorsey:
What I have here is the pelvic muscle trainer, the Athena, and I just wanted to show you a little bit quickly how it actually works.
This is the device that is actually inserted into the vagina and it has the little electrical impulses that are generated here.
They are very mild, not painful in any way. It’s about the size of a tampon. It’s not uncomfortable in anyway and this device is kept separate.
You can put it in your pocket or laid on the table next to you while you are using the device, but it does have to be in close proximity.
The reason that this works is because Kegel exercises are often difficult to do. Women have difficulty figuring out exactly which muscles to contract and women often forget to do it.
It needs to be done regularly and correctly in order to work. With this the guesswork is taken out because it actually stimulates the muscles for you.
When the stimulation happens with the Athena device there is a small muscle impulse that does cause a muscle contraction.
With the increased muscle contractions, it’s doing the exercise for you – the Kegel exercise for you, and in turn women will see a strengthening of their pelvic floor and less urinary incontinence.
And we are also seeing and looking into effects on women’s sexual responses and satisfaction with, after using the device and strengthening up those pelvic muscles, also.
What I am showing you here is a model of the bladder here and you can also see some of the musculature that’s in that pelvic floor.
One of the muscles that is strengthened while using the Athena PMT is this muscle that goes right around the urethra.
The urethra is the opening of the bladder and when that muscle is strengthened it puts pressure and decreases the amount of urine that can leak out of the bladder.
About Dale Ann Dorsey:
Dale Ann Dorsey, M.S.N., W.H.N.P., received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from ASU and worked in maternal/child health as a labor and delivery nurse, childbirth educator and clinical nursing instructor. She completed her Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner training at Harbor/University of California, Los Angeles, and her Master of Science in Nursing at California State University, Long Beach. Before entering private practice, she worked at 2 valley OB/GYN offices and the ASU Student Health Center. She is also an Associate Faculty at ASU College of Nursing. She believes in providing patient care with a holistic perspective, incorporating mind-body-spirit and brings over 20 years experience to her practice.
Visit Dale Ann Dorsey at Arcadia Well Woman