“Game changer” is one of the reviews from a recent study where female horse riders have tried Efemia bladder support. Invent Medic, the company that developed the product, states that the product relieved urine leakage in 81 per cent of the users in the study. The company is now launching an international campaign to reach the numerous women who experience problems with urine leakage while riding.

Invent Medic develops and sells products that promote women’s health in various ways. The company’s first product, the proprietary bladder support Efemia Bladder Support, has been developed to help numerous women suffering from stress urinary incontinence. Stress urinary incontinence means that the woman finds it difficult to prevent leakage when the pressure temporarily increases in the bladder. This is common, among other things, during various forms of physical exercise. One instance in which the pressure on the bladder becomes especially great is during horseback riding.

Stress test for the product

Invent Medic recently conducted an international study to test the capacity of the continence support to help horseback riders – a real stress test of the product.

“We already know that the product alleviates urine leakage in everyday life, as well as during crossfit and running. With this equestrian study, we wanted to test it in a very tough situation, both in terms of function and convenience”, Elisabeth Sthengel, research and development manager at Invent Medic, states in a press release.

A majority was helped by Efemia

The equestrian study included women from Sweden and the UK whom all suffer from stress urinary incontinence. In the UK, the company has been helped by its distributor, iMEDicare. According to Invent Medic, Efemia bladder support alleviated urine leakage in 81 per cent of the participants in the study. One of the participants describes the product as a “game changer” and the majority stated that they are likely to continue using the product.

“When you straddle a saddle while the horse is moving, the bladder is exposed to very high pressure, and it is gratifying that Efemia Bladder Support works well even in this challenging situation,” writes Elisabeth Sthengel.

Next step – digital campaigns

Following the promising study results, Invent Medic plans for digital campaigns in Sweden and the UK. The goal is to reach the numerous women who ride and who experience problems with stress urinary incontinence, a topic that far from everyone is comfortable talking openly about. In the study, only 14 per cent said they talked openly about their problems.

Invent Medic comments

BioStock spoke with Isabelle Ström, Marketing Manager at Invent Medic to find out more about the study and its implications for the continued marketing work.

You have chosen to conduct a study with female riders. Why was it important to test the product on this category of physically active women?

– We have carried out several user studies where we tested the continence support during activities like running and crossfit. All studies have shown good results. So, we wanted to see how the continence support works in a really tough situation like this.

– Horseback riding is a popular sport with many female practitioners. Prior to the study, we encountered the equestrian sport through a physiotherapist who specialises in horseback riding. Together we gave a lecture and we saw a lot of interest and several women who shared how they were troubled by leakage while riding.

– Some said that they experienced leakage and wet the saddle even though they had been to the bathroom before riding and that during the riding session, they used sanitary pads. In addition to the discomfort and the embarrassment of it being visible, it is also a financial issue. A saddle is an expensive investment that should last a long time. We saw the opportunity to be able to help riding women continue riding without worrying about leakage.

So, this could be called a stress test of the product’s ability?

– Yes, you could call it that. On horseback, it is very difficult for the woman to prevent leakage, partly because you sit straddle on the saddle, and partly because of the high pressure that the bladder is exposed to when riding.

– We also get questions about whether the product can chafe and if the user can feel the handle of the product. We know from the running study that once you have tried out the right size, the risk of experiencing chafing is small. In the running study, we had a woman who ran the Stockholm marathon without leakage and chafing. We see similar results in the riding study – the important thing is that you find your size and that can take a few tries to find.

– That’s why Efemia Bladder Support is available as a starter pack with three different sizes so that the woman can try it out for three months which size is best for her and her activities.

Are there other target groups where it would be relevant to conduct similar studies?

– We often receive feedback from the healthcare staff, our customers, and stakeholders in the company about how Efemia works in different contexts. Urine leakage can occur in many different situations that may be interesting to look closer at. We are evaluating whether to do more studies with other target groups and to continue to include international participants in the studies.

Can you tell us more about the campaigns planned to spread the word about these results?

– In parallel with the release of the equestrian study ‘Galopp utan Dropp’, Apotea’s intimate campaign is underway with an offer for continence support. We spread knowledge about the study through several activities on social media, newsletters, digital ads, and collaborations with the equestrian sport.

– During the campaign period, we also do a collaboration with triathlete Jenny Nae who shares her problems with leakage and how she handles it. The more women who dare to talk and pay attention to how common urine leakage is, the less taboo the area becomes and more dare to seek help.

You can learn more about the company here.

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