Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) ,the most common type of UI, is the involuntary leakage of urine from the urethra with an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. Pelvic Floor Muscle( PFM) dysfunction in women may lead to SUI . Thus, one of the effective managements in SUI is Pelvic Floor Muscle Training. PFM strength has a strong relationship with abdominal muscles work, therefore, in the present study, a combination training of PFMT and core exercises is used for the management of SUI.

Methods: The study was a semi experimental control trail which was approved by the Ethical Committee of Medical Sciences/Tehran University , Main participants were 22 women with proven stress urinary incontinence , VAS score , IQOL questionnaire , PFM strength ,PFM static and PFM dynamic tests were evaluated pre and post intervention. The subjects were conducted a three-weekly training program under supervision

Results: Conservative management & exercise therapy is recommended as a first line treatment for SUI. The results of this study showed that combined exercise training of core muscles & PFM was associated with the improvement of SUI, in reducing incontinency, increasing the score of IQOL questionnaire, improvement of the PFM strength and endurance in a short duration. There were significant differences in our variables pre and post intervention, including 60% increasing of the total score of IQOL questionnaire, 57% reduction in VAS score and 76% increase in pelvic floor muscle strength .

Conclusions: Our findings showed the positive effects of this new exercise protocols in improving the physical condition and quality of life in all participants.