Do women have an accurate perception of their pelvic floor muscle contraction? A cross‐sectional study

Uechi, Natalia; Fernandes, Ana Carolina Nociti Lopes; Bø, Kari; Freitas, Leticia Maciel de; Ossa, Aura M. P. de la; Bueno, Sabrina M; Ferreira, Carmen V.

doi:10.1002/nau.24214

Cited by 16 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Since PCS, due to their rigid tissue, might have even more difficulty in activating the pelvic floor muscles than non-cancer survivors (57), it is likely that PCS will benefit even more than non-cancer populations from guidance and support when practicing PFMT. PCS-described experiences, together with previous research (22,24,(129)(130)(131), highlight the importance of therapeutic guidance and support, not least for PCS, in order to achieve a positive effect from PFMT on incontinence. In other words, physiotherapeutic support would probably be valuable in pelvic cancer rehabilitation, not only for support in the rehabilitation of side effects that can be relieved by exercise, but also for support in pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation.…”

Section: Pelvic Floor Muscle Trainingmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Furthermore, Uechi et al report in a recent study that most women in a non-cancer population believe that they can do a voluntarily pelvic floor muscle contraction, but that most of them do not have a correct self-perception regarding whether they actually contract the muscles or not. Only 33% of the 82 women, considering the examiner as a reference, were able to evaluate their pelvic floor muscle contraction correctly (131). Since PCS, due to their rigid tissue, might have even more difficulty in activating the pelvic floor muscles than non-cancer survivors (57), it is likely that PCS will benefit even more than non-cancer populations from guidance and support when practicing PFMT.…”

Section: Pelvic Floor Muscle Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Incontinence, physical activity, and pelvic floor muscle training in female pelvic cancer survivors after radiotherapy

Lindgren

2020

Linköping University Medical Dissertations

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Background: Cancer treatment continues to improve, contributing to an evergrowing population of cancer survivors. Pelvic cancer survivors (PCS) constitute the second largest group of female cancer survivors after breast cancer. Many female PCS have been treated with radiotherapy as a part of their cancer treatment. Unfortunately, like all effective cancer treatments, pelvic radiotherapy is associated with a risk of subsequent, unwanted side effects. Some side effects remain or persist long after the end of treatment and some are even lifelong. A common and burdensome side effect after pelvic radiotherapy is urinary and/or fecal incontinence. Incontinence is known to negatively affect quality of life (QoL) and physical activity levels. Physical activity contributes to several positive health effects. In cancer survivors, it may reduce the risk of recurrence and even the mortality risk. Cancer survivors in general, and female PCS in particular, tend to be less physically active after cancer treatment than before treatment. When suffering from urinary and even fecal incontinence, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is recommended as a first-line treatment for the general population. In addition to decreased incontinence levels, PFMT may contribute to increased physical activity and better QoL. However, little attention is given to PFMT as a potential treatment for incontinence in the Swedish national care program for pelvic cancer rehabilitation. Furthermore, there is as yet no evidence that PFMT is as effective in female PCS as in female non-cancer survivors. The effectiveness of PFMT cannot be taken for granted because female PCS survivors often have treatment-induced damage to structures in the pelvic floor that might affect its applicability. However, the problem of incontinence among female PCS remains, along with the fact that they tend to be less physically active than other cancer survivors. Indeed, this is an important research area and a necessary problem for health-care providers to resolve, not least for physiotherapists. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of female PCS' experiences of incontinence in relation to physical activity, QoL, and rehabilitative efforts, including PFMT. This includes gaining increased knowledge about the relation between incontinence and physical activity in the form of exercise and QoL, and whether PCS experience that physiotherapy contributes in a valuable way to reducing their incontinence. This could enable the development of meaningful physiotherapeutic interventions, that PCS can and are willing to engage in, to achieve a potential reduction in incontinence, as well as increased QoL and activity levels. Methods: The thesis includes four different studies, using three different methods, all conducted with female PCS. Studies I (n=13) and IV (n=11) are qualitative individual interview studies, using semi-structured interview guides. Study II is a cohort-based cross-sectional observational study (n=578) and Study III is a prospective cohort-b...

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Section: Pelvic Floor Muscle Trainingmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Pelvic Floor Muscle Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incontinence, physical activity, and pelvic floor muscle training in female pelvic cancer survivors after radiotherapy

Lindgren

2020

Linköping University Medical Dissertations

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“… Instructions for self-palpation can be given to women who culturally accept it, and they should be told to perform it in a private environment and that it should be avoided during real-time video calls [ 17 , 19 ]. Self-estimation of women’s ability to contract their PFMs seems to be poor, especially in women with weak PFM contraction, meaning that the results should be interpreted with caution [ 21 ]. Health education recommendations and specific recommendations about physiotherapeutic interventions for women with PFD symptoms during the pandemic …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self-estimation of women’s ability to contract their PFMs seems to be poor, especially in women with weak PFM contraction, meaning that the results should be interpreted with caution [ 21 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A guide to physiotherapy in urogynecology for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2020

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Introduction and aim Physiotherapy in urogynecology faces challenges to safely continuing its work, considering the adoption of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some guidelines have already been published for urogynecology; however, no specific documents have been produced on physiotherapy in urogynecology. This article aimed to offer guidance regarding physiotherapy in urogynecology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A group of experts in physiotherapy in women's health performed a literature search in the Pubmed, PEDro, Web of Science and Embase databases and proposed a clinical guideline for physiotherapy management of urogynecological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This document was reviewed by other physiotherapists and a multidisciplinary panel, which analyzed the suggested topics and reached consensus. The recommendations were grouped according to their similarities and allocated into categories. Results Four categories of recommendations (ethics and regulation issues, assessment of pelvic floor muscle function and dysfunction, health education and return to in-person care) were proposed. Telephysiotherapy and situations that need inperson care were also discussed. Regionalization is another topic that was considered. Conclusion This study provides some guidance for continuity of the physiotherapist's work in urogynecology during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the World Health Organization recommendations and the epidemiological public health situation of each region. Telephysiotherapy can also be used to provide continuity of the care in this area during the COVID-19 pandemic, opening new perspectives for physiotherapy in urogynecology.

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“…Biofeedback has been shown to be beneficial in educating patients on how to correctly perform PFM contractions (255,256). Studies have demonstrated that 33% of women were unable to contract the PFMs properly, even after thorough one-to-one instruction (257). A recent study from Nepal also encountered challenges in teaching PFM contractions to Nepalese women using only verbal instructions and flyers (258,259).…”

Section: Pelvic Floor Muscle Training In Pregnant Nepalese Women (Papmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pelvic floor muscle training programme in pregnant Nepalese women—a feasibility study

et al. 2019

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Do women have an accurate perception of their pelvic floor muscle contraction? A cross‐sectional study

Cited by 16 publications

References 20 publications

Incontinence, physical activity, and pelvic floor muscle training in female pelvic cancer survivors after radiotherapy

Incontinence, physical activity, and pelvic floor muscle training in female pelvic cancer survivors after radiotherapy

A guide to physiotherapy in urogynecology for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pelvic floor muscle training programme in pregnant Nepalese women—a feasibility study

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