My Perifit Review (updated 2024): A Great Option for Pelvic Floor Training
Shauna Ironside is an osteopathic manual practitioner, certified athletic therapist, athlete, and mother of three. She has a busy clinical practice located in Ottawa, Canada, where she has been helping bodies of all ages and stages lead pain-free, healthy, strong, active lives. Learn more about Shauna here.
Since writing this unsponsored and unpaid review (I bought my Perifit with my own money years ago when I was trying to heal my pelvic organ prolapse), PERIFIT has generously offered Healthy Mumma readers a 15% discount code. This is an affiliate link, which means that I get a small monetary “thank you” from the lovely people at Perifit at no cost to you.
USE THE DISCOUNT CODE HM15 FOR 15% OFF YOUR PERIFIT
March 1st 2024:
Perifit is currently offering Healthy Mumma visitors
25% OFF
the Perifit+ or classic Perifit!
I am not sure how long this offer will last. Perifit had originally told me this deal would end in Dec. This is a huge savings, so take advantage of it!
Please use the code HM15 to save!
You can buy your Perifit here.
UPDATE (February 2024): PERIFIT+ IS HERE!
The folks at Perifit have just launched a NEW Perifit trainer called the Perifit+. So as much as I LOVE (love, love, love!) the original, go and read my review of the redesigned “+”. It has been designed for comfort and movement based training, and let me tell you, I put it to the test!
Read my review of the Perifit+ here.
MY PERIFIT REVIEW 2024 UPDATE
Here are a few updates since my original review:
1. PERIFIT HAS ADDED NEW PELVIC FLOOR TRAINING GAMES
Perifit has added a bunch of new games to the app! This is great news! And trust me, they are all so different and fun, they will keep you committed as you try to level up and unlock the new games.
Also, know that once you have unlocked a game, you can add it to your preferred list. How great is that? If there is a game that you didn’t love simply keep it “unchecked” from your list. Your favourite games will be cycled for your training enjoyment.
2. USING PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER IN UPRIGHT POSITIONS AND WITH EXERCISE
I mentioned in my initial review about not being able to use Perifit standing. Lying down has its advantages - there is a better chance of keeping those pelvic floor “helper muscles” like the glutes and the groin muscles “off”. This can be beneficial when you are really just trying to target the pelvic floor muscles. But since most women have more issues in standing, I was curious about Perifit being used in that position, and even while doing some basic exercises, like a squat. I had tried once when I first got my Perifit and it didn’t seem to be working for me - maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance.
Anyhow, a reader mentioned that Perifit does state in an article that it can be used in other positions or even activities that cause symptoms. I haven’t been able to find this article on their website, but I was curious to try again.
I set the training to ‘manual mode’ and tried it in standing first. I found I could use it quite well and it seemed to provide accurate feedback. I tried a game and this also worked pretty well. My glutes and adductors were definitely more inclined to kick in and help, but overall it worked. I had to check it far more than in lying as it felt like it would slowly slide down (out) - it did a few times, but overall it stayed in quite well.
Next, I tried some squats. I set the app to manual mode again, to see my pelvic floor muscles work automatically as I squatted up and down. This also worked okay, but I did have to push it back in often. I don’t think this is a reflection of poor pressure management on my part, but just the fact that I was squatting with a silicon device in my vagina…?!
I can see the potential for using the Perifit on manual mode while doing basic exercises, like a squat, to see where your weak points are (ie bottom of the squat, the concentric or eccentric phase), but I have to play with it some more to see the real value.
The biggest reason I love Perifit is that it gets me doing the isolated pelvic floor work that I know is so beneficial. I know I am training my pelvic floor dynamically, helping its automaticity, when I walk, run, swim, weight train, and during sex. So while I don’t see much advantage to using it during exercise or even in a standing position, my curiosity as a physical therapist means that I will continue to test this little device in other ways.
Next up, maybe I’ll take my Perifit for a walk! Stay tuned. Haha.
MY ORIGINAL PERIFIT REVIEW
(2020)
Life is not normal these days. This global COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every one of us in ways we never thought possible. It’s all new and it’s all quite stressful.
I think this is especially true for new mummas who are feeling lost in their healing and rebuilding without the direct, hands-on, access to the physical therapy that they need and deserve.
These days are tough, mumma. And while I don’t have all the answers, I hope this helps in some small way.
I’ve had my PERIFIT pelvic floor trainer for seven months now and have been meaning to write a review for some time, but it took “isolation-life” for me to finally get it written. And I want to get this out to you now so that you know that there are options out there. Nothing can replace the one-on-one help from an experienced professional, but (*spoiler) PERIFIT is a pretty great option, especially during a global pandemic.
Waiting for the world to resume some form of normalcy when physical therapists can re-open their doors is not a healthy option when you are having pelvic floor issues.
A FEW THINGS BEFORE YOU READ MY PERIFIT REVIEW:
I bought my Perifit trainer with my own money. When I wrote this review (April 2020) this article was not sponsored in any way. I bought PERIFIT with my own money. I had a mild pelvic organ prolapse that was mostly resolved, but I was struggling to get my pelvic floor exercises in. I was curious about PERIFIT and wanted to give it a try. As well, patients frequently ask me about these types of devices and I’ve never been able to provide them with my professional opinion since I’d never tried one. So part of purchasing my PERIFIT was for my own health, but also so I could make an informed decision as to whether I’d recommend it to my patients or not.
I had a pelvic organ prolapse (POP). I developed a POP when I was pregnant with my third baby. I worked really hard to heal my prolapse, but towards the end of my healing, I was doing really badly with remembering to do my pelvic floor exercises. This is when I bought PERIFIT - as an adjunct to my healing process, for maintenance and to prevent any future POP. You can read about how I healed my pelvic organ prolapse here.
I know my body. I am an athletic therapist and an osteopathic manual practitioner, and I know bodies. I went into my experience with PERIFIT with a wealth of knowledge about how to relax, contract, and use my pelvic floor muscles optimally. Not everyone is going to be starting at this same vantage point.
PERIFIT is my first review. I have never used or tested any other pelvic floor strengthening devices, and so I have nothing to compare this “research” to.
These are my opinions. I strongly suggest that you consult with a pelvic floor physiotherapist (many are doing TeleRehab) and/or your doctor before starting with any device like PERIFIT.
WHAT IS THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER?
Launched in 2017, out of France, PERIFIT is a pelvic floor training device (they call it a Kegel exerciser, but I dislike the term Kegel as it is usually equated with contraction, which is only part of training your pelvic floor). It helps you to strengthen and relax the muscles of your pelvic floor.
PERIFIT is a biofeedback device, meaning it provides you with real-time feedback on your performance - how well you contract and relax the muscles of your pelvic floor.
These are the muscles that help support your pelvic organs (bladder, vagina, rectum), and help with continence. They are muscles that are stretched and strained in an alarming way during pregnancy and birth, but anyone can have pelvic floor support issues. PERIFIT is geared for anyone.
Pelvic floor support issues, like incontinence and prolapse, are multifactorial.
Pelvic support issues typically reach beyond just the muscles of the pelvic floor. Your alignment, how you breathe, the strength of your core and hip muscles, your digestive health, your bowel and bladder habits, your physical activities, daily posturing, and even your mental health will all contribute to the function of your pelvic floor.
PERIFIT will only help you with the strength and relaxation of your pelvic floor muscles. It can’t help you with the rest. So please consider the other boxes to check when trying to help your pelvic floor out.
WHAT COMES IN THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER BOX?
PERIFIT comes in a simple white box that includes a medical-grade silicone wand and instructions. The wand is your force detector. It is sensitive to both the deep and superficial layers of the pelvic floor muscles.
You have to download the PERIFIT app on either your phone or tablet. It is free and compatible with both IOS and Android.
Once you download the app, you are ready to go!
In fact, the battery lasts for FIVE years, so you never have to worry about charging it. This is a nice feature as it will likely increase compliance. If it’s always ready to go, you’re more likely to use it!
HOW DOES THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER WORK?
The short: you play video games with your pelvic floor muscles.
Yes, you read that correctly. This is what is so awesome about PERIFIT (and let’s be honest, a little weird).
The great thing about video gaming is that it keeps you motivated. In fact, I played for more than thirty minutes the first time I used mine because I kept wanting to level up.
When was the last time you did Kegels for half an hour?!
The app will take you through a brief questionnaire at the beginning to determine what training program is recommended for you. The questions are mostly centred around leaking and urinary urge. It only takes a minute to answer the questionnaire.
From there, it’s playtime!
Here’s a video of what the screen looks like while you are training:
WHO IS THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER FOR?
Anyone! On their website, they suggest waiting 6 weeks postpartum to use it, but otherwise, it has the potential to help anyone. There are six training programs you can work with:
Postpartum
Stress incontinence
Urge incontinence
Mixed incontinence
Intimate well-being
Prevention
I love that they have included a prevention program.
There is also a manual mode that allows you to “play” while giving you real-time feedback on your force output (see photos below).
Funny, during my last session I was playing in manual mode and I SNEEZED. It registered as 793g! The most I could contract on my own is 558g. Thank goodness for the autonomic force production of our pelvic floor muscles! That is what continence is all about, the autonomic control!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER:
Compliance & Motivation. The Perifit trainer is fun! No, really it is. It is a bit odd at first, controlling a video game with your nether parts, and takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get going you will want to keep leveling up and getting access to new games. Trust me, this is way more fun than sitting there with a weird look on your face as you try to do the elevator exercise that your therapist gave you.
Sensitivity. According to the PERIFIT website, it can detect a contraction of just 0.35 oz/ 10 g. I found it to be very sensitive. Play with this in manual mode by fully relaxing and then trying to engage to varying degrees. Manual mode will provide you with real-time feedback (see above).
Relaxation. There is a surprising amount of ‘down’ time in most of the levels. The ability to relax your pelvic floor muscles is really important, if not as important as the ability to contract them well. PERIFIT has hit the mark with encouraging relaxation.
Tracking & Feedback. Leveling up, gaining better percentages, better accuracy, max force, deep and superficial work - these are all the things that make PERIFIT so great. The statistics page is impressive and provides you with information on what all of the parameters mean.
Cost and Accessibility. Cost matters to most of us, and while I hate to put a number on our health, I think the Perifit is incredibly reasonable at less than $200Cd considering it should last you ten years and you can use it any time. Physiotherapy is not accessible to everyone, and a good therapist that you trust and want to work with can be hard to find. And every mom knows how hard it is to get out the door to an appointment. We fall to the bottom of the totem pole far too often. PERIFIT is a great adjunct to a pelvic health program from a therapist or on its own if it helps with your symptoms and function.
WHERE THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER IS LACKING:
It only checks one box. I mentioned this earlier, but obviously, this little trainer is only going to help out with the muscles of your pelvic floor. It can’t help you with the other muscles that help with pelvic floor function, like your core and hip muscles in particular. And it obviously is not going to help you with all of the other factors that may play a role in your pelvic health, such as your breathing, digestion, and alignment.
You can’t use it while doing dynamic movement. I tried to squat with it and failed. If you figure out how to do this let me know! But I’m pretty sure the Perifit is intended to be used only while lying down. This means there is no way of getting the typically much-needed feedback during movements that might trigger your symptoms like walking, jumping, squatting, etc.
It’s HARD! Don’t be fooled ladies, this little pink device will make you work hard! In fact, I was having trouble meeting some of the sustained max contractions in a few of the games (just couldn’t get there!). So I tried performing “worse” during the calibration test at the beginning of each game. Before you start a game you have to fully relax and then maximally contract your PFMs three times. This sets your max force for the game. I found that if I backed off just slightly in my max contraction during the calibration that I could hold the max contractions in the game without feeling like I was compensating with other muscles (my jaw, glutes, etc). This didn’t happen all the time, but that pipe level had me in!
WOULD I RECOMMEND THE PERIFIT PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER?
I think you know the answer to this.
The number one issue I see most women having with their pelvic floor is the ability to simply connect to it. The feedback from a physiotherapist is wonderful, but she’s not going to follow you home and monitor your exercises. Perifit provides you with the biofeedback that you need while making pelvic floor strengthening F U N, or at least less boring.
And as I’ve said already, I think there is so much value in the FUN aspect. This device makes boring pelvic floor work a little more interesting and that is a great thing for compliance.
A FEW TIPS FOR USING PERIFIT:
DO think about the front part of your pelvic floor. If you are having trouble contracting your pelvic floor muscles, especially during a max or sustained contraction, think about the FRONT part of your pelvic floor (vs. the back part). Our tendency is often to squeeze through the anus (it’s usually easier), than the front around the bladder. Force output is often less (especially with a vaginal sensor) when the focus is around the anus. Focus on the front and you should see greater force production, and a more efficient contraction all around.
DO warm-up with Manual Mode for 2-3 minutes before starting a game:
Play with slow, wave-like contractions, then quick pulses, spike the graph.
Monitor your deep vs superficial force.
Check your max contraction (keep your glutes relaxed!).
Play with your breathing - what happens when you inhale? When you exhale?
What happens when you engage your core muscles?
DON’T squeeze your glutes. Try to keep your glutes and other muscles relaxed. Especially during a max contraction, your tendency may be to squeeze with the glutes (possibly using too much posterior pelvic floor too).
DO use your breath. Use an INHALE to RELAX your pelvic floor (think of it expanding), and an EXHALE when you need to CONTRACT it. I call this Piston Breathing.
AND FINALLY…
If you are having difficulties with your pelvic floor, I strongly suggest two things:
You must see a pelvic floor physiotherapist to help guide your healing.
Work on the other factors. Consider these factors that may also be hindering your progress:
Digestion: constipation & bloating means more pelvic floor strain.
Bowel/bladder habits: frequency, urgency, straining, etc. will all affect your pelvic floor.
Breathing: your pelvic floor is your second diaphragm, it moves in sync with your thoracic diaphragm.
Mental Health: so many of us carry stress in our pelvic floors - is yours too tight or tonic?
Overall Strength: work on your core and hip strength especially.
Know that there is SO MUCH you can do on your own with proper education and exercises (from a therapist), and using a device like Perifit that will provide you with feedback. Feedback is the number one issue most women have when it comes to working towards a healthier pelvic floor.
Hope this helps! I am here for you.
Shauna
** Since writing this unsponsored and unpaid review, Perifit has generously offered Healthy Mumma readers a 15% discount code. This is an affiliate link, which means that I get a small monetary “thank you” from the lovely people at Perifit at no cost to you.
