Anna Piccoli

Kegel and Elvie: what do these names mean?

You can now train you pelvic floor muscles in a technologically proofed way

In an age when exotic sports become more and more common and everyone tries out pilates, yoga and tai chi, a new frontier has been set. It goes under the label Kegel exercise (or pelvic floor exercise) and for it you can even have a technological trainer, Elvie.

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Elvie - This is the smart tracker for kegel exercises designed by the British company Chiaro (by and) for women

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Elvie is the name given to a smart Kegel tracker. But let's start from the beginning: what actually is Kegel? This is how the exercise of pelvic floor muscles is called. The label comes from gynaecologist Arnold Kegel, who in the Fifties found out how simple contractions could help strengthen the pelvic floor and prevent or reduce urinary incontinence, especially after pregnancy. It is also claimed that repeatedly contracting and releasing the pubococcygeal muscles improves sex enjoyment and facilitates orgasm in women, while increasing size and intensity of erections in men. All in all, people doing Kegel exercises develop greater bladder and bowel control and major sexual gratification.

Since the pelvic muscle is out of sight, it is considered difficult to actually exercise it. Stopping urine flow is a technique that can be used to identify the right muscle, but it should not be performed often because holding in pee is risky for one's health. In addition, pelvic toning devices have been designed to make exercising easier. The first one was the perineometer, invented by Kegel himself. The tool combined rubber balloons and tubes which measured pressure resorting to a water column. You can imagine, it was not really practical. Over time, other devices were launched on the market ranging from barbells (vaginal cones that can be actively retained in the vagina) to electro-stimulators, rubber resistance balls and springs.

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Old Kegel exerciser - This tool was once used to train the pelvic floor muscle by women. Different models - regarded as more practical - are available nowadays

Now, back to Elvie: this is the latest technology produced to satisfy women's demand for an intimate personal trainer. The pebble-shaped part that is used internally has motion-detecting sensors and via Bluetooth can provide real-time feedback regarding the wearer's exercises. In order to make the workout fun and, therefore, more appealing, the training was designed as a video game divided in three levels (beginner, intermediate and expert): using her pelvic muscles, the player has to keep a ball bouncing above a given line. The interface is the screen of her smartphone. For competitive users, there is the option to set records in speed and pulse challenges. Once used, Elvie should simply be washed with warm water and put in its discreet case, which also functions as a charger.

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Elvie, its case and the app - Elvie works through sensors applied to a material, pebble-shaped device which send signals to the smartphone screen and enable each user to interact with the video game "your vagina plays". After use, the object can be washed and put back in its case

For more information about Elvie check the related website.