Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Cindy Flom-Meland

Keywords

Pelvic Floor -- physiopathology; Urinary Incontinence -- therapy

Abstract

Effectiveness of Pelvic Floor Exercises in Women with Urinary Incontinence Purpose: Urinary incontinence is common in women; especially those who have had one or more vaginal deliveries. The purpose of our case study was to measure the effectiveness of pelvic floor exercises and biofeedback in women with urinary incontinence (VI) in a rural midwest physical therapy clinic.

Methods: Patients participating in this study were referred to a physical therapy clinic by their physician for a urinary incontinence program. During the initial evaluations, baseline biofeedback readings were recorded and home exercise programs were given. Patients were then seen for follow-ups at approximately two weeks, four weeks, and three months thereafter. Final biofeedback testing and completion of the three inventories were performed at the three-month follow up.

Results: Due to a small sample size, we chose to display our results on an individual case basis. Case study 1 showed improvement subjectively, however, did not improve in objective measures. Case studies 2 and 3 showed improvement both in subjective and objective measures.

Discussion: Limitations of our study included a small sample size, rural community environment, lack of normative data for biofeedback, and time constraints. All three patients reported subjective improvement from the UI program, and the continuation of this study will help to determine the significance of this physical therapy intervention.

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