Examination of pelvic floor knowledge level and the perspective of exercise and physiotherapy modalities of women during menopause

The aim of this study was to examine menopausal women's perspectives on exercise and physiotherapy modalities and pelvic floor knowledge levels and to compare them according to menopausal stages. A total of 211 women participated and were grouped as perimenopausal (n=80) or postmenopausal (n=131). After recording socio-demographic characteristics, menopausal symptoms were assessed with the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), physical activity with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), exercise benefits and barriers with the Exercise Benefit/Barrier Scale (EBBS), perspectives on exercise and physiotherapy modalities with the Perspective Assessment of Exercise and Physiotherapy Modalities for Menopausal Symptoms Questionnaire, and pelvic floor health knowledge with the Pelvic Floor Health Knowledge Test (PFHKT). 83.9% of participants preferred not to exercise for their symptoms. Perceptions of exercise benefits and barriers were similar according to menopause stages (p>0.05). Perimenopausal women had higher pelvic floor knowledge (p=0.023). This study found that women did not prefer exercise and physiotherapy modalities for menopausal symptoms, and postmenopausal women had lower pelvic floor health knowledge. Based on these results, we recommend providing informational training to menopausal women about the effects of exercise and physiotherapy modalities on the management of menopausal symptoms.