Pelvic floor muscle training helps with postpartum urinary incontinence

Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) alone or combined with other interventions proves useful in the treatment of urinary incontinence in postpartum women, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Researchers searched multiple online databases for experimental studies addressing the effects of training interventions on the severity of urinary incontinence during the postpartum period. The interventions were categorized as PFMT, PFMT through electrical stimulation or biofeedback or both, PFMT plus education, PFMT plus abdominal muscle training, and abdominal muscle training.

A total of 19 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analysis. The Hartung–Knapp–Sidik–Jonkman method was applied, with subgroup analyses and meta-regression models performed according to population characteristics, intervention characteristics, and type of outcome measure.

Pooled data showed a statistically significant reduction in urinary incontinence severity in postpartum women who underwent PFMT (standardized mean difference [SMD], −1.45, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], −2.61 to −0.28), PFMT through electrical stimulation or biofeedback (SMD, −2.16, 95 percent CI, −3.50 to −0.81), and PFMT combined with abdominal muscle training (SMD, −1.73, 95 percent CI, −3.42 to −0.03).

Potential effect modifiers related to the characteristics of the population, the intervention, or the outcome measurement tool modified the results. However, intensive treatments that involved more sessions over 12 weeks appeared to have a greater beneficial effect on reducing symptoms of urinary incontinence.