Magnetic chair helps women with bladder problems

April 7, 2004

Last Updated: 2004-04-06 16:10:15 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Magnetic therapy delivered with a special

chair appears to be a safe and effective treatment for urinary

incontinence in women, Dutch researchers report.

Two main types of incontinence are seen in women. Urge incontinence

results from an overactive bladder and is associated with a sudden

strong need to urinate. Stress incontinence, in contrast, typically

occurs with physical activities that raise abdominal pressure, such as

laughing, sneezing, coughing, or exercise.

Although each type of incontinence is a distinct entity, many women have

features of both.

The findings from the Dutch study, which are reported in the medical

journal BJU International, are based on a study of 12 women with urge

incontinence and 12 women with urge and stress incontinence who received

magnetic therapy.

Magnetic therapy was delivered with Neocontrol, a treatment chair

produced by Marietta, Georgia-based device company Neotonus. The chair

features an electromagnetic generator in the seat and dials for

controlling the frequency and amplitude of the magnetic field. The

patients underwent 20-minute treatments twice weekly for 8 weeks.

Six women with urge incontinence and eight with mixed incontinence had a

measurable improvement in their incontinence, Dr. D. D. Chandi and

colleagues, from the Leyenburg Hospital in The Hague, report. Three

patients were totally dry and 17 reported improvements. No serious side

effects observed.

Magnetic therapy " is a safe, noninvasive, and painless treatment for

urinary incontinence, " the investigators comment. " Follow-up studies are

needed to evaluate the long-term (effectiveness) and to determine if

continuous treatments are necessary. "

SOURCE: BJU International, March 2004

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