Sun ZJ, et al. - The outcomes of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) were comparatively evaluated between postpartum and non-postpartum women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Additionally, researchers sought to identify the potential factors that could affect these outcomes. The results displayed a better outcome of PFMT in postpartum women with SUI than that in non-postpartum subjects. Better amelioration of SUI symptoms after PFMT was illustrated among women with more improvements in vaginal contraction pressure (VCP) and weight loss.

Methods

• Researchers enrolled 54 and 79 participants into postpartum (PP group) and non-postpartum (non-PP group) groups, respectively.
• During this study, a physiotherapist treated the participants twice a week for 6-8 weeks.
• The 1-h pad weight test (PWT), vaginal contraction pressure (VCP), and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form (IIQ-7) were examined via an evaluator or physiotherapist, at baseline and 6 and 12 months after treatment.
• PWT improvement served as the the primary outcome.
• The enrollees whose PWT improvement reached a >50% reduction relative to baseline were regarded as responders.
• Secondary outcomes constituted the VCP, IIQ-7 score, and patient satisfaction rate.

Results

• It was determined that the PWT improvement was 87.04% (95%CI: 0.78, 0.96) in the PP group at 1-year follow-up.
• It appeared to be considerably better than the 72.15% improvement (95%CI: 0.62, 0.82) in the non-PP group (OR = 2.591, 95%CI: 1.018, 6.595, P=0.041).
• The variations in VCP and BMI served as prominent predictors of responders in the regression analysis.
• As the change in VCP increased by 1 cmH₂O, as increase was noted in the efficiency by 4.2% (OR = 1.042, 95%CI: 1.010, 1.070).
• A rise was displayed in the change in BMI by 1 kg/m², along with decreased efficiency by 23.0% (OR = 0.770, 95%CI: 0.633, 0.937).