Shoes that train your pelvic floor without you knowing
NCT ID NCT03194789
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether wearing shoes with small pods that disturb balance and gait can help reduce stress urinary incontinence in women. The shoes are designed to trigger pelvic muscle contractions automatically, similar to exercises that stabilize the lower back and pelvis. Sixty-four women will receive the shoes plus traditional pelvic floor therapy for six months. The study measures changes in symptom severity and quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Shoes with pertupods (footwear that creates balance and gait perturbations) plus traditional pelvic floor therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a low-effort way to reduce urine leakage by using specially designed shoes alongside standard pelvic floor exercises.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early study with no published results yet. The shoes may not improve symptoms more than pelvic floor therapy alone, and some women may find the footwear uncomfortable or inconvenient.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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64 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2017
- Finished
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Dec 2023
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Stress or Mixed Urinary Incontinence, based on UDI-6. * Females between the ages of 18-75 years. * Weight less than 350 lbs. * Ambulatory and active patients that can participate in a rehabilitation program that includes daily walking * Able to walk at least 50 meters and scored positive on the STEADI test * Able to understand, read and sign the informed consent form * English or Spanish speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Prior surgery for incontinence * Pelvic Floor Therapy within past 6 months. * Currently pregnant * Predominantly Urge Incontinence. * Patients with more than 3 falls in the last 52 weeks, OR any balance related fall with an injury in the last 52 weeks. * Patients exhibiting a lack of physical or mental ability to perform or comply with the study procedure. * Patients with a history of pathological osteoporotic fracture * Any major cardiovascular comorbidities prohibiting enrollment in an active exercise program * Active heart disease (ischemia or heart failure admissions within 24 weeks) and Active COPD (exacerbation within 24 weeks) * Active malignancies on ongoing treatment * Patient with neurological gait pattern. * Patient requiring assistive device during gait analysis.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Montefiore Medical Center - Medical Park Campuses
The Bronx, New York, 10461, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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