The effect of body awareness exercises combined with pelvic floor muscle exercises on quality of life and incontinence parameters in individuals with stress urinary incontinence

Ebrar Akkurt, The Effect of Body Awareness Exercises Applied in Addition to Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises on Quality of Life and Incontinence Parameters in Individuals with Stress Urinary Incontinence, Hasan Kalyoncu University Graduate Education Institute, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Master's Thesis, Gaziantep 2024.The aim of this thesis study is to investigate the effect of body awareness exercises (BAE) applied in addition to pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME) on quality of life and incontinence parameters in individuals with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). A total of 25 participants aged between 18-65 years were included in the study. Participants were divided into two groups by simple randomization method: pelvic floor muscle exercises group and pelvic floor muscle exercises with body awareness therapy group. The exercises were performed 3 days a week (2 days face-to-face and 1 day online) for 8 weeks. The quality of life of the individuals participating in the study was evaluated with the King Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF). The severity of incontinence was evaluated using the Incontinence Severity Index (ISI), Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7), and the Pelvic Floor Health Knowledge Test (PFHKT). The degree of improvement after the exercises was determined using the Global Perceived Effect (GPE) scale. Pelvic floor muscle tone was assessed by a biofeedback device measuring maximum voluntary muscle contraction and relaxation tone. As a result of the evaluations, it was observed that the severity of incontinence decreased, quality of life improved, and SUI symptoms improved in all groups on the perceived improvement scale (p<0.05). It is thought that both treatments can be used interchangeably in the treatment of SUI, and physiotherapists working in the clinic can choose either exercise according to the patient's compliance. The pelvic floor muscle strength measured with surface EMG-biofeedback device increased in individuals, but there was no significant difference between the groups. Additionally, we believe that studies with longer-term follow-ups could help determine potential differences between the groups.