The effects of external electrical stimulation added to pelvic floor muscle training in women with stress incontinence

In this study, the effects of the external electrical stimulation (EES) added to pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on stress urinary incontinence (SUI) were investigated. Fifty one women with mild and moderate SUI symptoms were included in the study. The patients were divided into three groups of PFMT (n:17), EES (n:17) and PFMT+ EES (n:17) by block randomization. The PFMT was applied every day of the week, and EES was applied 3 days a week for 8 weeks. Pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS), pelvic floor muscle endurance, subjective perception of improvement, severity of incontinence, quality of life, pelvic floor dysfunction (PTD) and urinary parameters were assessed as outcome variables. All measurements, except subjective perception of improvement were investigated before and after treatment. After the 8-week treatment program, in all groups, while PFMS and pelvic floor muscle endurance increased, the severity of incontinence and symptom decreased (p<0.05). It was also found that there was a significant improvement in quality of life, pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary parameters (p<0.05). While making comparisons among the groups, after the treatment, only the incontinence impact sub-parameter of the quality of life showed more improvement in the PFMT + EES group (p<0.05), while the other outcome measures showed similar improvement in all groups (p>0.05). In addition, according to the subjective improvement perception, there was no statistically significant difference in the improvement rate in the groups (p>0.05). According to these results, it was seen that all three methods could be preferred as an alternative to each other. Further studies are needed to compare the long-term results of all three treatment approaches and examine their effects on patients with severe SUI.