IQoro side effects and secondary effects
Here, you’ll find the answer to the question: Does IQoro cause side effects? In addition, we explain what the actual secondary and side effects are, and which side effects are most commonly experienced when using IQoro.

Does IQoro cause side effects?
The short answer is no, there are no known side effects of IQoro.
IQoro is a medical device that has undergone scientific studies at Swedish universities. During these studies, researchers have not been able to find any negative side effects of IQoro.
There are also no side effects reported in our quality system regarding abnormalities due to a serious event associated with training. Should news of such a deviation be received, we are obliged to report this in accordance with the legal requirements for medical devices.
However, some people who start training with IQoro experience secondary effects of treatment. The most common secondary effect is muscle soreness.
Another secondary effect that some people experience at the beginning of their treatment is that heartburn or other symptoms become temporarily worse. This is a natural part of the course of events that occurs when you start strengthening your inner muscles. You can read more about different secondary effects of treatment with IQoro further down this page, but first let’s explain the difference between secondary effects and side effects.
What is meant by side effects?
Medicines developed to treat a disorder usually also have undesirable effects that can affect those taking the medicine in various ways. This is called a side effect. Anyone who develops a new drug is obliged to investigate and report common side effects.
Side effects are caused by the drug or product used, and are not a natural, expected part of the course that will lead to you becoming better.
It could be said that side effects can occur if you take a medicine – whether you actually need the medicine or not. For example, if you take antihistamine without having an ongoing allergic reaction, you can still suffer from a dry mouth because it is a side effect of the antihistamine drug.
What is meant by secondary effects?
A secondary effect is “something that is part and parcel”. Secondary effects can be both positive and negative.
Secondary effects can be anything from muscle soreness, to getting thirsty from eating salty crisps. Secondary effects of IQoro could therefore be both that you can reach higher notes when singing, and that you get rid of your double chin.
A secondary effect is an open concept and can really be anything you consider to be related to the training. After a month of using IQoro you may have become good at accurately assessing how long 10 seconds is without using a clock, or think it is even more boring to brush your teeth because it now includes two routines.

IQoro secondary effects
When you start treating your symptoms with IQoro, you may experience various secondary effects. These are harmless and disappear as your inner muscles get stronger.
Your symptoms may change. You may experience more instances of heartburn but less acid reflux. Or less dry coughing but the feeling of a lump in the throat more often.
It is important to know that worsening symptoms at the beginning of treatment are a temporary deterioration that is harmless, although it may be unpleasant.
Pressure change temporarily causes more symptoms
Worsening symptoms are usually due to some pressure change in the mouth, oesophagus and hiatus canal.
This can cause symptoms to get worse for a period of time. As time goes on and your muscles get stronger, the symptoms will subside and then disappear completely.
Stopping the use of acid-inhibiting medication too quickly
Another common reason for experiencing secondary effects from the use of IQoro is that you may have stopped other symptom relief too soon, before your musculature becomes strong enough.
Therefore, you should continue with the anti-acid medication for as long as you need it. You shouldn’t have to go around feeling discomfort or pain.
After using IQoro for a period of time, you can then reduce your usage of the medication in consultation with your doctor until you feel that you can do without them.
Rebound effect creates discomfort
If you stopped taking acid-suppressing medication abruptly, you may experience a so-called rebound effect with increased production of gastric acid for a period of time before production stabilises. A rebound effect is unpleasant but it is not dangerous.
Below we address some of the secondary effects experienced by some of our customers.
Muscle soreness
When you start training with IQoro it is not uncommon to experience muscle soreness in your mouth, tongue or throat.
You may even start to think you’re getting ill, because you have a sore throat. Without having any other signs of infection. It may well then be muscle soreness that you have experienced.
Muscle soreness occurs when we strain our muscles in an intense or new way that we are not used to. If your musculature is so weakened that you suffer from symptoms such as heartburn, a lump in your throat or a cough, it is therefore not unusual to suffer from training pain at the beginning of your treatment with IQoro.
Start gently and increase gradually
Experiencing muscle soreness from IQoro is not dangerous, and you can continue your treatment. However, it may be a good idea to gradually step up training in the first few weeks after you get your IQoro to avoid too much soreness.
In such instances, you can start with 3 x 5 second stretches, three times per day. Also, make sure that you train at even intervals through the day so that the muscles have time to recover in between.
You can then increase for a few seconds at a time every few days until you’re up to 3 x 10 seconds, three times a day – which is the recommended training time with IQoro.

Temporarily worsening symptoms
Some people who start training with IQoro experience that their symptoms get worse.
This can be disappointing when you were hoping to get rid of your symptoms. At this point it is important to remember that your worsening problems are only temporary and will pass if you continue with the treatment according to our instructions.
Some of the symptoms that our customers may experience at the beginning of their treatment are:
- Increased heartburn, acid reflux, a lump in the throat or other common symptoms of hiatus hernia.
- Taste of blood in the mouth.
- Change in existing tinnitus sounds.
Increased heartburn and other symptoms of hiatus hernia
When you start treatment with IQoro, there is a small risk that you will initially experience more heartburn or acid reflux than usual. This is because treatment with IQoro creates a pressure change inside the body.
Your muscles are still not strong enough to hold the stomach in place, while the pressure change causes gastric acid to be pushed up even easier into the oesophagus and throat.
When this happens, it is important to continue with treatment, because strengthened muscles will counteract your symptoms in the long run. It is also important that you continue taking the anti-acid medications that you may have taken so far, until the muscles become stronger and the symptoms begin to subside. Only then can you reduce your medication.
If you experience different symptoms of hiatus hernia than before, this is a positive sign. This means that your muscles are trying to find a way of working together again. While they do this and become stronger, you may experience different or new symptoms. This is very unusual, but if it happens to you, it is good to know that it is not dangerous and that it will pass once you’ve trained your musculature.
Taste of blood in the mouth
If you experience blood or the taste of blood in your mouth when training with IQoro, there are normally three different reasons for this.
- Problems with acid regurgitation, reflux, heartburn or mucus in your throat are caused by gastric acid coming up into the oesophagus. Since the gastric acid is corrosive, it can begin to corrode the mucous membrane of the oesophagus resulting in minor bleeding. Normally, the blood would have run down into your stomach, but when training with IQoro, increased pressure is created that can cause the blood to enter your mouth instead.
The blood is harmless, and when mixed with saliva can sometimes look worse than it is. The bleeding in the oesophagus will cease once your musculature has strengthened and you no longer experience gastric acid in the oesophagus. - If you have an ongoing infection in your mouth’s mucous membrane or in any tooth, this may cause blood in your mouth. Reflux and heartburn can actually cause poor oral health and gum inflammation. Tartar can also contribute to fragile mucous membranes bleeding more easily.
- If you are taking any medication that causes the weakening of mucous membranes as a side effect, the blood may be due to this.
If you notice blood or the taste of blood in your mouth when training, it is a good idea to try to discover where the blood is coming from. Use a mirror and torch if necessary. You are also welcome to contact us by phone or e-mail if you are worried.
Tinnitus
It has happened that people with tinnitus have had a variation in the sounds they hear when they start treatment. This is because one of the nerves stimulated during training with IQoro goes to the middle ear. If you have tinnitus and are about to start, or have already started, training with your IQoro, feel free to call us so that we can help you get started with the treatment correctly.
Can training with IQoro be harmful?
For the vast majority, IQoro is not harmful. It is a training tool that strengthens internal muscles and treats problems such as reflux, heartburn, difficulty swallowing and snoring without any known side effects.
However, clinical experience shows that there are three medical conditions in which IQoro cannot be recommended, and two diagnoses where treatment with IQoro should be introduced with caution. Read more about these below.
When should treatment be started with caution?
For the following diagnoses, it is advisable to start with a shorter training period and build up slowly.
- Tinnitus
- Whiplash injury
- Peripheral Facial Paralysis-Bell’s Palsy
For people with these diagnoses, we recommend pulls of 3 seconds for the first two to three weeks, then increasing by one second per week asl long as it feels OK. Increase to a maximum of 10 seconds per pull. Otherwise, regular training instructions apply.
Feel free to contact our customer support for advice and support on how to train correctly for your diagnosis.
When should IQoro be avoided?
People who are diagnosed with any of the below should probably avoid training with IQoro as this can cause additional discomfort.
Contact our customer support for advice before ordering an IQoro if you have been diagnosed with any of the following:
- Achalasia/achalasia cardiae
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Paraesophageal hernias
Achalasia/achalasia cardiae
Achalasia is a rare oesophageal disease consisting of a motor disorder in the inner muscle layer of the oesophagus, as well as in the lower oesophagus.
Achalasia is very rare but is sometimes confused with hiatus hernia. If diagnosed with achalasia, the entire Latin name must be used in the journal, achalasia cardiae.
If you have been examined for achalasia cardiae and have been diagnosed by a doctor, only start training on the advice of a doctor during careful follow-up.
Call our customer service if you have any questions or feel unsure.
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia are attacks with short-term intense pain. The disease usually debuts around the age of 50 and is more common in women. Every year, about 6 in every 100,000 people fall ill with it.
The pain is often misinterpreted as coming from the teeth or sinuses. In both cases, the right side seems to be affected twice as often as the left.
Paraesophageal hernias
A Paraesophageal hernia means that part of the stomach is pushed up into the thorax, to the left of the oesophagus (under the heart), while the gastroesophageal junction (the boundary between the oesophagus and stomach) remains under the diaphragm. Paraesophageal hernias do not slip back down by themselves. This is an uncommon condition.