Improvement of continence rate with pelvic floor muscle training post-prostatectomy: a meta-analysis of randomized...

The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence of the effect of pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy.

A bibliographic search was conducted in four databases. Studies were grouped according to the intervention program(muscle training versus control and individual home-based versus physiotherapist-guided muscle training).

Eight studies were selected for meta-analysis after satisfying the selection criteria. The data show that pelvic floor muscle training improves continence rate in the short (RR=2.16; p<0.001), medium (RR=1.45; p=0.001) and long term (RR=1.23; p=0.019) after surgery. The number of randomized controlled trials and the heterogeneity in the study population and type of pelvic floor muscle training were the main limitations.

Programs including at least three sets of 10 repetitions of muscle training daily appear to improve continence rate after radical prostatectomy. Our meta-analysis shows that muscle training programs for urinary incontinence provide similar results to those of physiotherapist-guided programs, therefore being more cost-effective.