In our previous single-arm pilot study, we reported that ready-made supportive underwear (shaper) was effective in elevating the bladder neck and reducing urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of wearing a shaper compared with pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) at home using a training compact disc with music, or no treatment, in an assessor-blinded randomized control trial, on reducing UI symptoms.
Participants aged 30-59 years with symptoms of stress urinary incontinence were randomly assigned to three groups: the shaper group, PFMT group, and no treatment group. The UI episodes/week and the Japanese version of the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short-Form were compared between the baseline and the 6th or 12th week of the intervention period.
Eighty-nine women who completed the 12-week intervention period were analyzed. After the 12-week intervention period, the improvement rate in UI symptoms (ratio of the case number in which the UI episodes/week decreased at least 50% from the baseline) was 73.3% (22/30 women) in the shaper group, 74.2% (23/31 women) in the PFMT group, and 25.0% (7/28 women) in the no treatment group. The improvement rate in UI symptoms in the shaper and PFMT groups was significantly higher than that in the no treatment group (both P < 0.001).
Wearing supportive underwear (shaper) was almost as effective as PFMT at home in reducing UI symptoms.
International urogynecology journal. 2019 Jan 09 [Epub ahead of print]
Hisayo Okayama, Sanae Ninomiya, Kiyoko Naito, Yoshihiro Endo, Shigehiro Morikawa
Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan., Department of Nursing, Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan. ., Department of Childhood Care, Faculty of Education Welfare, Biwako Gakuin University, Higashi-Omi, Japan., Department of Nursing, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan., Molecular Neuroscience Research Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan.