Abstract
Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common health problem affecting quality of life of nearly 420 million people, both women and men. Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training and other physiotherapy techniques play an important role in non-surgical UI treatment, but their therapeutic effectiveness is limited to slight or moderate severity of UI. Higher UI severity requires surgical procedures with pre- and post-operative physiotherapy. Given that nearly 30%–40% of women without dysfunction and about 70% with pelvic floor dysfunction are unable to perform a correct PFM contraction, therefore, it is particularly important to implement physiotherapeutic techniques aimed at early activation of PFM. Presently, UI physiotherapy focuses primarily on PFM therapy and its proper cooperation with synergistic muscles, the respiratory diaphragm, and correction of improper everyday habits for better pelvic organ support and continence. The purpose of this work is a systematic review showing the possibilities of using physiotherapeutic techniques in the treatment of UI in women with attention to the techniques of PFM activation. Evidence of the effectiveness of well-known (e.g., PFM training, biofeedback, and electrostimulation) and less-known (e.g., magnetostimulation, vibration training) techniques will be presented here regarding the treatment of symptoms of urinary incontinence in women.
Highlights
Urinary incontinence (UI), characterized by involuntary loss of urine (ICS—International Continence Society), is a serious social and health issue whose incidence is increasing [1]
32 papers were qualified for the review (Figure 1): 11 publications on Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training, 8 on electrical stimulation, 6 on magnetic stimulation, and 7 on whole-body vibration training were qualified for review
The results suggest that vaginal palpation with or without posterior pelvic tilt was more effective in PFM facilitating than electric stimulation
Summary
Urinary incontinence (UI), characterized by involuntary loss of urine (ICS—International Continence Society), is a serious social and health issue whose incidence is increasing [1]. UI is diagnosed more often in women than in men [2], and in 2018, it was predicted to affect nearly 420 million people (300 million women and 120 million men) worldwide [1]. SUI is characterized by loss of urine as a consequence of an increase in intra-abdominal pressure, which results in an increase in intravesical pressure that exceeds the maximum urethral closure pressure. This situation occurs, for example, during coughing, sneezing, or jumping [4]. MUI combines the symptoms of the above two types, and the involuntary loss of urine is associated with urgency and/or increase in intra-abdominal pressure [6]
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