A pelvic floor muscle training program in postmenopausal women: A randomized controlled trial

Area of Science:

• Urogynecology
• Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
• Geriatric Medicine

Background:

• Postmenopausal women are susceptible to pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and urogynecological symptoms.
• Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction can contribute to these conditions.
• Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is a potential conservative treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a specific PFMT program in postmenopausal women.
• To assess the impact of PFMT on PFM contractility, anterior POP, and urogynecological symptoms.
• To utilize surface electromyography (sEMG) as a primary outcome measure for PFM contractility.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, blinded-assessor, controlled study involving 46 postmenopausal women (30 completed).
• Intervention group received 12 group PFMT sessions (twice weekly, 30 min each).
• Evaluations included digital palpation, sEMG, POP-Q, and validated incontinence questionnaires.

Main Results:

• PFMT significantly increased PFM contractility, confirmed by sEMG (p=0.003) and digital palpation (p=0.001).
• Urinary symptoms showed significant improvement (p<0.001 for ICIQ-OAB, p=0.036 for ICIQ UI-SF).
• Anterior pelvic organ prolapse decreased significantly (p=0.03).

Conclusions:

• The studied PFMT program effectively enhances PFM contractility in postmenopausal women.
• PFMT demonstrates efficacy in reducing anterior POP and associated urinary symptoms.
• This preliminary research supports PFMT as a valuable intervention for urogynecological health in this demographic.