Abstract
Objective: To determine the comparative effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle exercises with Pfilates exercises for the treatment of
stress urinary incontinence among females.
Study Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial
Place and Duration: The study was conducted in Women Health Clinic near Jinnah hospital, Lahore for the duration from 5th August
2017 till 15th April, 2018.
Methodology: Participants were randomized into two groups (27 in each group). Group A and B received pelvic floor muscle
exercises and Pfilates exercise program respectively. Exercise therapy consisted of 12 sessions biweekly for 6 weeks for the duration
of 1 hour per session for both groups. Baseline assessment of pelvic floor muscle strength was done using manual muscle testing
and graded with Modified Oxford Scale. Two questionnaires- Urinary Incontinence diagnosis (QUID) and Incontinence Impact
questionnaire (IIQ-7) were also collected. The post-treatment assessments were made at 3th and 6th week.
Results: Total 54 patients were randomized of which 47 completed the study. Mean pre-treatment score of questionnaire for
Urinary incontinence diagnosis for the group A and B were 11.00 ± 2.12 and 10.70±1.82 which were improved to 7.83± 1.90 and
8.17±1.37 respectively. Similarly, mean baseline incontinence impact questionnaire scores for group A and B were 50.00 ± 12.60
and 49.30 ± 9.00 which were improved to 41.13 ± 9.78 points (18% improved) in group A (p=0.001) and to 32.27 ± 6.18 points (35%
improved) in group B (p=0.001). Mean baseline Modified Oxford scale scores for group A and B were 1.58 ± 0.59 and 1.27 ± 0.45
which were improved to 3.09 ± 0.72 (p=0.039) and 2.74 ± 0.69 (p=0.101) respectively.
Conclusion: The Pfilates method promoted similar outcomes in comparison to pelvic floor muscle training when applied to patients
for a span of 6 weeks. None of the group is superior statistically over the other.
