Do Pelvic Floor Exercise Apps Work?What the Trials Found
Bladder & Pelvic FloorArticleKegels work best when you keep doing them, and an app is a cheap way to keep reminding you. In a Swedish trial of 123 women with stress leaks, a free training app cut symptom scores by more than three points in three months compared with waiting. A 2026 review of 12 trials found apps helped people stick with training, but the symptom gains were small. Here is what to expect.
Pelvic floor training is the first step for stress leaks, the ones that come with a cough, sneeze or jump. The hard part is doing it for months. Apps promise to help with that.
The Swedish trial
In 2013 and 2014, researchers in Sweden randomly gave 123 women with weekly stress leaks either a training app called Tät or a three-month wait.1 Their average age was 44.7.1
| After 3 months | Result |
|---|---|
| Symptom score (0 to 21) | App group improved by 3.2 points more than the waiting group1 |
| Still training | 98% of app users; 41% trained every day1 |
| Felt much better | 56% said their leaks were much or very much better2 |
Women who did best expected the app to help, didn’t gain weight, and felt their muscles getting stronger.2
The comparison group got no treatment during those months, and the women signed up through the researchers’ website, so they were likely motivated.1
The bigger picture
A 2026 review pooled 12 randomized trials with 1,647 women.3
- Apps helped women stick with training, and improved leak scores and quality of life.3
- But the symptom gains may be too small to matter for many women, and the evidence quality was low.3
- The authors’ advice: use an app alongside, not instead of, supervised training.3
Making an app work for you
- Check that you’re squeezing the right muscles. Tightening your belly, thighs or buttocks instead can make leaks easier. See am I doing Kegels correctly?
- Pick one with a training program you’ll follow. The Swedish app paired a pelvic floor program with information about leaks and lifestyle.1
- Give it three months, then check your leaks against where you started.
- If nothing has changed, see a pelvic health physical therapist. See pelvic floor PT costs and coverage and Kegel trainer devices.
Try: “I’ve used a pelvic floor app daily for three months and I still leak when I cough. Can you check whether I’m contracting the right muscles?”
Laugh, Sneeze, Jump covers training in Chapter 5, “The Squeeze You Can’t See,” with steps called Find It, Check It and Train It. Its Three-Day Read gives you a starting count of leaks, so three months later you can tell whether the app made a difference. See the book.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It isn't a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional who knows your health history. See a clinician for leaks with burning, blood in your urine, a bulge in the vagina, pelvic pain, or leaking that's getting worse. If squeezing makes pain or urgency worse, stop and get checked before continuing. Girl Playbook does not endorse any specific product, test, or provider.
Girl Playbook sells this book. It provides education and worksheets, not individualized medical care.
Sources
The research behind this article, in the order it’s cited. How we source our articles.
- Neurourology and Urodynamics (abstract via PubMed), 2017Mobile app for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: A randomized controlled trial (opens in a new tab)abcdef
- International Urogynecology Journal (via PubMed Central), 2018Treatment of stress urinary incontinence with a mobile app: factors associated with success (opens in a new tab)ab
- Frontiers in Public Health (via PubMed Central), 2026Efficacy of mobile apps for urinary incontinence in women: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (opens in a new tab)abcd
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