Comparing Regenerative and Rehabilitative Strategies for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: Platelet-Rich Plasma vs....

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is one of the most common pelvic floor disorders in women, often impairing quality of life (QoL). Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the standard conservative therapy, while autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a newer minimally invasive regenerative option.

To compare the effectiveness of three periurethral PRP injections versus PFMT in women with SUI.

This prospective cohort study included 169 women diagnosed with SUI, divided into a PRP group (n = 131), receiving three periurethral PRP injections at 4-6-month intervals, and a PFMT group (n = 38), completing a 12-week PFMT program. Outcomes were measured using the Stamey incontinence scale, visual analogue scale (VAS), and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ).

At baseline, PRP patients had more severe symptoms and worse QoL scores. After one injection, PRP achieved improvements in Stamey and VAS scores comparable to PFMT (lower scores), though KHQ remained superior in PFMT (significantly higher baseline scores in the PRP group than the PFMT group). The PRP group showed consistently larger within-group improvements across all scales (p < 0.001), in contrast to the PFMT group, which produced smaller and less consistent changes.

Repeated PRP treatment provides greater, controlled, and more consistent benefits than PFMT for SUI.