Medium-term efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training for female urinary incontinence in daily practice

The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficacy of physiotherapy and quality of life in women treated for urinary incontinence by specialized physiotherapists in daily community-based practices. Three hundred and fifty-five women were treated in five physiotherapy practices between January 2000 and December 2004. After a minimum follow-up of 12 months, these women received a questionnaire at home. With the questionnaire, we collected demographic data, data on the efficacy of treatment, satisfaction with the result, and the Urogenital Distress Inventory, and Incontinence Impact Questionnaire. Additional information was derived from the medical files. One hundred and eighty-seven women responded. Fifty percent of women were satisfied with the result of physiotherapy. After a mean follow-up of 32 months, 123 out of 130 women (94.6%), who only had physiotherapy, recorded to experience incontinence episodes daily to several times a week. Women who underwent additional incontinence surgery after insufficient physiotherapy recorded significantly less urinary incontinence symptoms and a better quality of life. Pelvic floor muscle training for urinary incontinence is effective in half of the women. If not successful, women seem to benefit significantly from incontinence surgery.