Aquaflex Pelvic Floor Exercise System has been a favourite easy- to -use set of pelvic floor or kegel weights for decades.
Sadly production was recently ceased without warning and I have been fielding many questions as to what do we use now?!

There have always been many alternatives so let's look at what you might want to consider whether for yourself, or if you are a clinician, for your patients.

For a long time we have had a pelvic floor weight comparison chart on our website which you can view here.
I created this in response to the "which vaginal weights are best for me / my patient?" question. The answer to that is .....it depends.
There never has been just one brand that is best.


The choice of weight should sit squarely with the answer to "what is the width of the genital hiatus?"

The hiatal width is the distance between the left and right sides of the levator ani muscles. In order for any product to sit comfortably in the vagina, it needs to be wide enough for the levator ani to accomodate it.
This is a vital part of choice for many reasons for any product from dilators to electrodes. Some products are required to help gently stretch and widen the hiatus (dilators) and some are required to make good contact either side to complete a circuit to facilitate a stimulated muscle contraction (electrodes). 

In the case of vaginal or kegel weights, the weight needs to be an appropriate width for the levator ani to be able to hold it in to facilitate some resisted contraction. Weights for pelvic floor exercises should sit just within the levator ani to make the muscles work against the resitance. This will not make the muscles overactive (I will address this myth in another post) if used correctly.

     

©Lori Forner
This image is reproduced with kind permission from Lori Forner who holds copyright to her illustration. 

Considerations for your chosen product needs to be :

1.  Able to fit within the hiatus. If it is too wide it will be difficult to insert, if it is not wide enough it will slide out. Simple physics.

2.  A suitable weight or load for the pelvic floor. You don't load any other body part with more weight than the muscles are ready for. The pelvic floor is skeletal muscle so the same considerations need to be taken.

3. Ideally, allowing for progression although sometimes a single weight like the Uno can be sufficient to give feedback and resistance.

To compare the widths and weights of the pelvic floor/vaginal/ kegel weights we sell please refer to our downloadable chart 

What are the alternatives?

Unfortunately we do not have an alternative that starts at the low end of weight range that Aquaflex did, ie large cone 10g + 5g weight.
The closest to this are the smallest Intimate Rose weight at 25g, and the Luna beads (original and mini) at 28g

We do have alternatives that are in the same width range as the Aquaflex cones : 20-27 mm Intimate Rose Lunabeads mini and the smallest Nova Ball but bear in mind the smallest width is the heaviest in this range and intended as a progression.

For those with a larger hiatal width we move up to the vaginal ball ranges which are what you would have considered previously as Aquaflex was not suitable for a larger hiatus.

 

The material presented in this information sheet is intended as an information source only. The information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters presented herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information. The information should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of the advice of a health care provider. Pelvic Floor Exercise does not accept liability to any person for the information or advice provided in this sheet, or for loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance upon the material contained herein.

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