Studies on vaginal cones and weights, the objects most similar to Ben Wa balls that have been researched, were carried out with women with urinary incontinence and as a complement to pelvic floor training, not for pleasure.
The main limitation
The trials are small, with women in very different situations (postmenopause, postpartum, stress or urge incontinence), and one of the reviews dates from 2001.
In practice
What the studies support is pelvic floor training with professional supervision. They do not prove that a particular object is better than exercise without it.
What kind of studies there are
Syntheses of studies 5
Randomised trials 2
We classify each study by its design. A synthesis of many studies or a randomised trial supports firmer conclusions than a survey or an expert opinion. The design does not tell you whether a result is good or bad.
What the studies say overall
Studies on vaginal cones and weights, the objects most similar to Ben Wa balls that have been researched, were carried out with women with urinary incontinence and as a complement to pelvic floor training, not for pleasure.
A Cochrane review concludes that pelvic floor training appears effective in stress or mixed incontinence, and that the evidence on adding vaginal cones is limited.
A meta-analysis of trials with women with incontinence after childbirth found that supervised training with cones was more beneficial than individual training, while a review on urge incontinence found improvements with all physiotherapy techniques except cones.
In two small trials with women with stress incontinence, training with cones or with weights gave no clear differences in symptoms compared with training without them, although the weights improved muscle power in the pilot trial.
A review on pregnancy and the postpartum period concludes that pelvic floor training is effective when supervised.
Where they disagree
The results on cones go in different directions: one meta-analysis finds them beneficial with supervision, another review finds no improvement with them, and the individual trials see no differences compared with exercise without cones.
Limits of the evidence
The trials are small, with women in very different situations (postmenopause, postpartum, stress or urge incontinence), and one of the reviews dates from 2001. One of them points out that there is no consensus on which intervention works best.
None of these studies looks at these objects for sexual pleasure.
The studies, one by one
We have gathered 7 verified studies. Each summary is our own; the quotation in inverted commas is taken word for word from the original abstract, in English.
What they found: A Cochrane review of more than forty trials concludes that pelvic floor training appears effective in stress or mixed incontinence, and that the evidence on adding vaginal cones or other adjuncts is likewise limited. (Hay-Smith et al., 2001)
Population Adult women with urinary incontinence (review of randomised trials)JournalCochrane Database Syst Rev
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
“Evidence of the effect of adding other adjunctive treatments to PFMT (e.g. vaginal cones, intravaginal resistance) is equally limited.” Hay-Smith et al., 2001
What they found: A meta-analysis of 17 trials in women with urinary incontinence after childbirth found that supervised pelvic floor training together with vaginal cones was more beneficial for reducing incontinence than individual training. (Chen et al., 2024)
Population Women with postpartum urinary incontinence (17 randomised trials)JournalJ Midwifery Womens Health
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
“Supervised PFMT and use of a vaginal cone were more beneficial in decreasing rates of UI compared with individual PFMT.” Chen et al., 2024
What they found: A systematic review of 22 trials concludes that pelvic floor training during pregnancy and after childbirth can prevent and treat urinary incontinence when done with supervision. (Mørkved et al., 2014)
Population Pregnant or postpartum women, first-time mothers or not (22 trials)JournalBr J Sports Med
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
What they found: A systematic review of 13 trials found significant improvements in urge incontinence with all physiotherapy techniques except vaginal cone therapy. (Greer et al., 2012)
Population Women with urge urinary incontinence (13 trials)JournalInt Urogynecol J
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
“Significant improvement in UUI was reported for all physiotherapy techniques except vaginal cone therapy.” Greer et al., 2012
What they found: A systematic review of 6 trials with 715 postmenopausal women with stress incontinence (using exercises, vaginal cones, biofeedback and other techniques) found that physiotherapy was effective in all the studies, but there is no consensus on which is the most effective intervention. (Malinauskas et al., 2023)
Population 715 postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinenceJournalArch Gynecol Obstet
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
“There is not a literature consensus about the most effective pelvic floor physiotherapy intervention applied to stress urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women.” Malinauskas et al., 2023
What they found: In a trial with 45 postmenopausal women with stress incontinence, both training with vaginal cones and exercise without cones reduced urine leakage over 12 months, with no differences between the two. (Pereira et al., 2013)
Population 45 postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinenceJournalNeurourol Urodyn
Verbatim quotation from the original abstract (in English)
“There were no differences between VC and PFMT group in primary outcome in any evaluations.” Pereira et al., 2013
What they found: In a six-week pilot trial with 35 women with stress incontinence, training with vaginal weights improved muscle power and contraction repetitions more than training without weights, but with no significant differences in the main incontinence symptom. (Bar Chen et al., 2025)
What the studies support is pelvic floor training with professional supervision. They do not prove that a particular object is better than exercise without it.
If you leak urine, or have pain or discomfort in the pelvic floor, speak to a healthcare professional before starting a programme on your own.
If you have pain or discomfort, speak to a healthcare professional.
