Efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training in improving symptoms of urinary incontinence and health related quality of life among parous and nulliparous women

Abstract Objectives To compare pelvic floor muscle strength, severity of urinary incontinence symptoms and health related quality of life between parous and nulliparous women; and to investigate the efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training in improving symptoms of urinary incontinence and health related quality of life in the previously mentioned two groups. Materials and methods Initially, 67 women were included in the study. Pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance were evaluated pre-treatment using the Pelvic floor exerciser. Participants were assessed before and after 10 weeks of pelvic floor muscle training by using The International Consultation of Incontinence Questionnaire – Short Form for symptoms severity, and The King’s Health Questionnaire for health related quality of life. Results The final sample included 32 participants: sixteen parous and sixteen nulliparous women between 18 and 50 years of age. Before the intervention, parous women (75%) were 2 times more likely to report urinary incontinence than nulliparous women (37.5%). They also had significantly lower pelvic floor muscle strength (p=.001), pelvic floor muscle endurance (p=.001), and more severe symptoms related to urinary incontinence (p=.009). Additionally, parous women had poorer disease specific quality of life in all domains. After the intervention, symptoms severity scores decreased significantly among both parous (p=.007) and nulliparous women (p=.038). Regarding quality of life, both groups had major improvements in all domains. Conclusions Our results suggest that urinary incontinence is more common among parous women. They experience more severe symptoms and have lower health related quality of life. Additionally, pelvic floor muscle training seems to be effective for improving symptoms of urinary incontinence and health related quality of life among both parous and nulliparous women.