INSIGHTS / News

Bath SETsquared company Propagator has developed an app aimed at people suffering from (or wanting to avoid) incontinence problems.

With urinary incontinence affecting over 60% of women in the UK at some point in their lives, often in association with child-birth, this app is already proving to be a success.

Wyc Slingsby, co-founder and Technical Director of Propagator, says:

“Propagator teamed up with a leading senior women’s health physiotherapist from the NHS who is passionate about helping people, but also about spreading the word that help is there for this condition, it’s effective, and you don’t have to just put up with leaks,”

The physiotherapist wanted a way to help her patients remember to do the exercises she set them and to monitor their progress – an app was the obvious tool to help.

The app can be tailored to a specific exercise programme and set to remind you when to do your exercises. It is simple to use, discreet, informative and has helpful visual and audio prompts to support your exercise programme. What’s more, it maintains a record of the number of exercises you have completed.

“People often forget to actually do the exercises they have been set or they don’t do them right”

“There is lots of research and evidence demonstrating the efficacy of properly-performed Pelvic Floor Muscle exercises in the treatment of these conditions, and it is the first line of treatment following the NICE guidelines, however, people often forget to actually do the exercises they have been set or they don’t do them right,” Wyc says.

“We launched Squeezy as an iPhone app about 18 months ago, and following amazing reviews and patient feedback, including some very touching life-changing stories, we released an Android version six months ago,” says Wyc.

Since then Propagator has also launched a version aimed at men, who also need help with these exercises, typically following prostate surgery.

Recently an academic article was published in the Journal of Pelvic, Obstetric and Gynaecological Physiotherapy reviewing 22 mobile phone apps aiming to do similar things to Squeezy. “We’re delighted that Squeezy came out on top, being the only one reviewed and approved by the NHS and the only one containing peer-reviewed evidence-based information on the condition and its treatment,” says Wyc.

“Being one of the startups in the Bath Innovation Centre, we also have countless tales around funding for the project – or the lack of it and our ambitions,” Wyc continues. “We’re currently seeking to further develop the brand, to partner with organisations with a research capability so we can get some quantitative research demonstrating the impact of using Squeezy on patient adherence to their exercise plans and their outcomes.”

“We’re also looking at extending Squeezy to address other conditions, both related to incontinence and those that have nothing to do with it.”