A feasibility study on the clinical use of noninvasive tibial nerve stimulation towards neurogenic bladder in spinal cord injured individuals

Abstract

Abstract This research assesses the effect of tibial nerve electrical stimulation on urinary incontinence in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) being a prospective noncontrolled intervention study. 8 individuals with SCI were recruited from the outpatient clinic. This study demonstrates results of tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) applied to the tibial nerves for 12 weeks. Two questionnaires were applied (Neurogenic Bladder Symptom Score-NBSS and Qualiveen- SF) and presented a tendency to improve symptoms and quality of life, however, without statistical significance. With the urodynamic data: maximum cystometric capacity increased with a mean of 285.6 ml pre, to 314.8 ml post TNS (P-Value: 0.554); compliance increased from 26.38ml/cmH2O pre TNS to 29.88ml/cmH2O post TNS (PValue: 0.461); detrusor hyperactivity in the filling phase occurred in all patients in the pre TNS assessment; the maximum amplitude of the detrusor pressure in mean detrusor overactivity after TNS increased from 62.0 to 66.6 cmH2 (PValue: 0.674); urinary leakage pressure during detrusor overactivity pre TNS were mean of 54.0 and 53.2 after (PValue: 1). The implications for rehabilitation practice and the positive effects of TNS are fundamental to improving the quality of life and reducing urinary incontinence on these individuals. Clinical outcomes, i.e., improvement on urinary incontinence can be achieved within a short period of intervention.