To analyse the specific exercise effects of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) with or without biofeedback or electrical stimulation on urinary incontinence rehabilitation after radical prostatectomy.
We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science and Scopus databases for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on PFMT for urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy from inception to 3 October 2022.
Two authors independently extracted key data from the included studies. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the A Measure Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews-2 checklist. Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation was used to evaluate the quality of the outcomes.
A total of 18 studies with 29,925 patients were included, all of which were of critically low methodological quality. Biofeedback therapy seemed to show additional benefits compared to PFMT alone; however, the adjunctive role of electrical stimulation remained more controversial due to the lack of strong evidence. Preoperative PFMT sometimes, but not always, showed the potential to improve urinary incontinence. PFMT with the guidance of a therapist could bring some benefits to the patient and was more acceptable to the patient, but consumed some medical resources.
PFMT has a good effect on improving post-radical prostatectomy incontinence in men, and biofeedback can have an additional beneficial effect on patients, especially in the short-term and medium-term. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that electrical stimulation is beneficial for patients with urinary incontinence.
Clinical rehabilitation. 2022 Oct 27 [Epub ahead of print]
Jia-Ming Yang, Hua Ye, Yi Long, Qiang Zhu, Hui Huang, Hui-Yong Xie, Yun Luo, Yan-Biao Zhong, Jing Chen, Mao-Yuan Wang
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, 477808First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China., 74554Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.