Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the evidence of the effect of pelvic floor muscle training on urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy.
Methods: A bibliographic search was conducted in four databases. Studies were grouped according to the intervention program (muscle training versus control and individual home-based versus physiotherapist-guided muscle training).
Results: Eight studies were selected for meta-analysis after satisfying the selection criteria. The data show that pelvic floor muscle training improves continence rate in the short (RR = 2.16; p < 0.001), medium (RR = 1.45; p = 0.001) and long term (RR = 1.23; p = 0.019) after surgery. The number of randomized controlled trials and the heterogeneity in the study population and type of pelvic floor muscle training were the main limitations.
Conclusion: Programs including at least three sets of 10 repetitions of muscle training daily appear to improve continence rate after radical prostatectomy. Our meta-analysis shows that muscle training programs for urinary incontinence provide similar results to those of physiotherapist-guided programs, therefore being more cost- effective.
Written by:
Arroyo Fernández R, García-Hermoso A, Solera-Martínez M, Martín Correa MT, Ferri Morales A, Martínez-Vizcaíno V. Are you the author?
Unidad de Fisioterapia, Hospital Provincial de la Misericordia, Toledo, Spain.
Reference: Urol Int. 2014 Nov 22. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1159/000368618
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25427689