TENA Global Brand Director, Andy Mack, discusses an issue that is much more common than most people think and how it impacts people in their everyday life, with a particular focus on sports. He describes the work himself and Essity are doing around the world, and how innovations that seem relatively small can have a big impact enabling people to be part of the team and part of society.
“Incontinence discourages you in every part of your everyday life since it is always on your mind. It can be everything from leaking in the bed to considering what to eat or drink, what to wear to not show that you are wearing protection, or avoiding spontaneous invites because you don’t know if there’s a toilet. These sound like small issues but together they become big inhibitions to everyday life,” says Mack.
We strive to empower people with incontinence to live without disruptions, but also to emphasize that they are not alone. To raise awareness about incontinence, we help inspire the people affected to undertake training through courses and apps where they can, for example, follow a training program that strengthens their pelvic floor muscles. The aim is to educate, as well as guide people with incontinence through the training in order to eventually and when they’re ready, live a fuller life.
From a sports perspective, incontinence is also a major issue for athletes.
“It hinders athletes a lot and can even make them quit their sports, so this is a huge problem. Leakage is more common when you are active; you often have smaller leakages that are more sudden and unexpected,” says Mack.