Plato said “necessity is the mother of invention”.  I am continually amazed at what women have created to help with incontinence.  There are so many inventions and devices out there to help with incontinence, all created by women who were looking for help with their own leaking.  Yvonne Brady, a brilliant woman with leaking, create shorts to help stop bladder leaking and protect the pelvic floor.

Theory behind the shorts

Yvonne is an Irish engineer and runner.  She had a baby, then got back to running and started leaking.  She had all the normal feels that come with leaking but she also felt a disconnect between the medical community and the sports community.  The supportive garment that she wanted to help with her leaking didn’t exist.  This led her to create the EVB shorts in 2013, shorts that are designed to help female runners with leakage.  Unlike other shorts for leaking, these aren’t just absorbent.  They are actually designed to stop the leaking.  The material compresses the butt and thigh muscles and provides “ non-elastic compression uplift and support to the pelvic floor muscles.”  It all works to keep the pelvis in a neutral, aligned position with a positive effect on posture. So these shorts support the pelvic floor, stabilize the abdominal wall and put the pelvis in the right place.

Data behind the shorts

This company has put a lot of research into their product.  There have been 3 studies that have looked at these shorts and their impact on bladder leakage although none of the studies have been published (yet).  The studies all have small numbers of participants and because they haven’t been published, I can’t read the details of the studies.  But it looks like the shorts may decrease the amount of leaking by 50%.  And women reportedly felt more comfortable wearing them.  The shorts have also won a few awards including “Best Gear of 2020”  and “Best In Value” by Women’s Running.

Reviews behind the shorts

Over 15,000 pairs have been sold.  The online reviews are generally amazing, 95% of women ranked them great to excellent.  The negative reviews are mostly about customer service and I think that happens with smaller companies.  The shorts definately don’t help all women with their leaking and there were some disappointed customers.  But this product isn’t magic.  It won’t fix everything for you- pelvic floor strengthening will still be important as will maintaining an ideal body weight.  But this product may be a great addition to what you are already doing.  I think they are worth trying for women who leak with exercise.  The concept behind them is sound, the data is promising and the on-line reviews are great.  I can’t wait to hear from more women who have tried them!