Comparison of Different Dosages of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Exercises Among Post-Partum Women with Urinary Incontinence: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) has been recognized as the primary intervention for addressing urinary incontinence (UI) in women. Nonetheless, variations in dosimetry of these exercises in terms of duration of contraction & rest cycles and training duration have reported conflicting findings. This research sought to compare the efficacy of most common dosimetry protocols for PFMT in terms of UI symptoms, quality of life (QOL) and pelvic floor muscle strength. Methods: The present study included 140 females with UI, who were randomly allocated to four groups, of 35 participants each. Group A performed three sets of 8 maximal contractions with 6-seconds hold and 6-seconds rest. Group B performed 3 sets of 25 maximal contractions with 3-seconds hold and 3 seconds rest, group C performed 3 sets of 10 maximal repetitions with 10-seconds hold and 10 seconds rest while group D performed 3 sets of 15 maximal contractions with 5-seconds hold and 15 seconds rest. All the exercises were performed twice daily. All participants were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks using the ICIQ-UI SF, ICIQ-LUTSqol, QUID, and Oxford muscle grading systems. Results: 125 subjects completed the study. All the groups showed significant within-group improvements (p<0.001) with Group A demonstrating the greatest improvement across all outcome measures. A between-group analysis also showed Group A as the most effective protocol. Conclusion: Though all the protocols were effective, the dosimetry used in group A showed maximum benefits among the women suffering from UI.