Effect of Global Postural Correction Exercises on Stress Urinary Incontinence During Pregnancy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Cairo University40 enrolled

Overview

Background: One of the many consequences of pregnancy that may negatively affect a woman's quality of life is stress urinary incontinence caused by activities of daily living especially those associated with increased intraabdominal pressure. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of global postural correction exercises on stress urinary incontinence among pregnant women. Participants and Methods: Forty primigravida women (aged between 30-39 years), with a single fetus, diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence participated in the study. Participants were assigned randomly into two groups: Study group (group A; n=20) and control group (group B; n=20). The participants were tested twice, before and after a 12-week period, during which group A received global postural correction exercises in addition to Kegel exercises, while group B performed only Kegel exercises. A perineometer was used to evaluate the change in vaginal squeeze pressure both before and after conducting the study. Urogenital Distress Inventory Questionnaire (UDI-6) was used to assess changes in incontinence severity symptoms.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Stress Urinary Incontinence

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALE

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Forty primigravida women with singleton fetus in their third trimester and diagnosed with pregnancy related SUI participated in this study. All participants suffered from a mild to moderate grade of SUI identified by clinical grading (Ingelman-Sundberg) (Wlazlak et al., 2015) as follows: Grade I (mild), the leakage of urine occurs on straining; and grade II (moderate), the leakage occurs following abrupt movement Exclusion Criteria: * Females were excluded from the study if they had severe grade SUI; infections in their lower urinary tract; neurological conditions; gestational diabetes; and chronic chest diseases. Females who smoked, used any medications or medical/surgical interventions for SUI, or who suffered any other type of urinary incontinence were also excluded from the study

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

strength of pelvic floor muscle

Time frame: change from Baseline strength of pelvic floor muscle at 12-weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Urogenital Distress Inventory Questionnaire

Time frame: change from Baseline Urogenital Distress Inventory Questionnaire (UDI-6) at 12-weeks