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"Vaginal cones are small weights that can be placed in your vagina to help you train your pelvic floor muscles. They were first used by Peattie, Plevnik and Stanton, whose study showed that you can be trained to use your pelvic floor muscles by retaining a weighted cone in the vagina. The cones are a similar shape to a tampon. There are two types:   a set of several cones, each one heavier than the last a cone that unscrews so you can put different weights inside it.  What kind of incontinence can they help?  Vaginal cones are used to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI). How effective are vaginal cones?  A 1995 study by Norwegian scientists used EMG recordings and vaginal cones. It showed that when cones were used there was an increase in muscle tone, whether the women were able to retain the cone or not. This study also showed improved coordination of pelvic floor muscle activity. Later studies also showed that it&amp;#039;s better to use cone therapy than no treatment at all, and using a cone may be as effective as pelvic floor muscle exercises alone. However, the studies showed that using cones doesn&amp;#039;t have a better effect than pelvic floor muscle exercises. How does the treatment help SUI? The theory behind the use of cones is that the feeling of losing the cone makes you contract your pelvic floor in an attempt to keep the cone in place.  This helps increase the strength of your pelvic floor muscles. How does the treatment work?  You insert the cone, with the appropriate weight, and use your pelvic muscles to keep the cone in place.  Start with the cone that you can hold for one minute. Do this twice a day. Gradually increase the length of time that you can hold the cone in place, until you can hold it for 15 minutes.  You can then increase the weight, or use the next heaviest cone.  Continue until you can use the heaviest cone in the set (or the heaviest cone) for 15 minutes, twice a day.  Who may this not be suitable for?  Your doctor or continence specialist may advise you not to use cones if:  you are pregnant and have a history of miscarriage or have been advised to avoid sex your vulva or vagina is inflamed or infected you have a moderate or severe vaginal prolapse (where the front wall of your vagina and part of your bladder drops down into the entrance of your vagina) you are menstruating you&amp;#039;ve had sexual intercourse within the last two hours you&amp;#039;ve had pelvic surgery in the last three months you have psychosexual problems.  The pros of using vaginal cones   The cones may help motivate you because you can see a steady improvement in the weight you can hold and the length of time you can hold the cone. The cones can help you do your pelvic floor exercises properly. They&amp;#039;re available in pharmacies or directly from the manufacturers. The Bladder and Bowel Foundation can give advice about suppliers. They&amp;#039;re not particularly expensive.  The downside of using vaginal cones   You may find it difficult to put the cone in. Some women find the cone slips out even if they have reasonably strong pelvic floor muscle control. You may not need to use any effort to keep cone in place. You may not need them if you do your pelvic floor exercises properly, so it&amp;#039;s best to talk to a continence adviser before you start using them. Some women find that using a cone results in vaginitis and vaginal bleeding.  Other people also read: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI): what treatments are available for SUI? What is incontinence? Around 80 per cent of urinary incontinence can be cured completely. Discussing SUI with your doctor: ask for explanations. The bladder and how it works: where are the problems?  References Bo K. (1995) Vaginal weight cones. Theoretical framework, effect on pelvic floor muscle strength and female stress urinary incontinence. Acta Obstetricia et Gynaecologic Scandinavica. 74: 87\u201392. Bo K, Talseth T, Holme I. (1999) Single blind, randomised controlled trial of pelvic floor muscle exercises, electrical stimulation, vaginal cones and no treatment in management of stress incontinence in women. British Medical Journal. 318: 487\u2013493. Deindl FM, Schussler B, Vodusek DB, Hesse U. (1995) Neurophysiologic effect of vaginal cone application in continent and urinary stress incontinent women. International Urogynecology Journal. 6: 204\u2013208. Laycock J, Brown J, Cusack C, Green S, Jerwood D, Mann K, Schofield A. (1999) A multi-centre, prospective randomised, controlled group comparative study of the efficacy of vaginal cones and pelvic floor muscle exercises. Neurourology and Urodynamics. 18, 301\u2013302.    Based on a text by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP  Last updated 12.03.2015 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/conditions/liver-kidney-and-urinary-system/a11637/vaginal-cones/>