Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is effective at improving urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms; however, patients often cannot properly contract their pelvic floor muscles. We hypothesized that contraction of the gluteal muscles alone would have the same effect as PFMT on improving UI symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of gluteal muscles contraction alone with that of conventional PFMT at home for reducing UI symptoms in women.
Sixty women 30-59 years in age who had stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were randomly assigned to the gluteal muscles training (GMT) group or the PFMT group. The participants in each group performed 3 min of training twice/day using a leaflet unsupervised at home during the 12-week intervention period. Three self-administered UI symptom measures (UI episodes/week, 1-h pad test, and the International Consultation of Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form score) were compared before the observation period (baseline) and at the 6th or 12th week of the intervention period.
Fifty women who completed the 12-week intervention period were analyzed. After the 12-week intervention period, the three UI symptom outcome measures significantly decreased compared with baseline in both groups (α < 0.05). The rate of improvement in UI symptoms (decrease of at least 50% in UI episodes/week and in the 1-h pad test compared with baseline) was 65.2% in the GMT group and 63.0% in the PFMT group, with no significant differences between the two groups (p = 0.898).
In unsupervised training using a leaflet at home, contraction of the gluteal muscles alone was shown to be as effective as conventional PFMT in reducing UI symptoms in women with SUI.
International urogynecology journal. 2024 Jul 30 [Epub ahead of print]
Sanae Ninomiya, Hisayo Okayama, Kiyoko Naito, Shigehiro Morikawa
Faculty of Nursing, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 7-6 Hatchonishimachi, Takatsuki, Osaka, 569-0095, Japan. ., Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan., Department of Childhood Care, Faculty of Education Welfare, Biwako Gakuin University, Higashi-Omi, Japan., Molecular Neuroscience Research Center, Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan.