Since Dr. Kegel first reported good outcomes for pelvic floor muscle training in women with urinary incontinence this therapy has become used for women with various pelvic floor disorders. The incidence of pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse has been steadily increasing. Although surgery or medications are commonly used, behavioral modification and pelvic floor rehabilitation are gaining in popularity both as primary treatment and as alternatives to surgery. The goal of this article is to review the pelvic floor rehabilitation with emphasis on biofeedback and electrical stimulation and examine the evidence of effectiveness and application of pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Biofeedback, Psychology ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Pelvic Floor Disorders ; Pelvic Floor* ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse ; Rehabilitation* ; Urinary Incontinence

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to evaluate the contributions of levator ani muscle (LAM) injury, vesical neck movement, urethral length and mobility, and urethral sphincter dysfunction observed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) towards stress urinary incontinence (SUI) after vaginal delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty primiparous women after 6 months of delivery (15 with SUI and 35 without) and 35 nulliparous as continent controls underwent MRI at rest and Valsalva maneuver. A published levator ani scoring system was used to characterize morphological changes of LAM. The severity of the injury was divided into three categories as none, minor, and major. A series of common parameters including levator plate angle, iliococcygeal angle, and levator hiatus were used to describe the functional conditions of LAM. Urethral mobility was defined based on the rotation of the urethra between Valsalva and rest status. Vesical neck movement was evaluated by its distance to the pubococcygeal line. Urethral sphincter dysfunction was defined as the widening of the proximal urethra and/or funneling at the urethrovesical junction during Valsalva. RESULTS: Primiparous incontinent (PI) women had additional major levator ani defects (33.3% vs. 17.1%) while less minor defects (0.7% vs. 31.4%) than primiparous continent (PC) women. Vesical neck downward movement in PI women was more obvious than PC women (28.5 mm vs. 24.2 mm, p = 0.006). Urethral mobility was more active in primiparous women than in nulliparous continent controls (57.4 vs. 52.4), whereas no difference was observed on urethral mobility in the primiparous group (p = 0.25). Urethral sphincter dysfunction and funneling were present in 80% of PI women versus 22.9% in PC women (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The MRI findings revealed that de novo SUI was associated with major LAM injury, vesical neck downward movement as well as urethral sphincter dysfunction. Vesical neck funneling on sagittal images can be treated as a valuable predictor for SUI. The intervention for the PI should focus on the elevation of vesical neck, rehabilitation of LAM as well as recovery of the urethral sphincter muscle.
Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Neck ; Pelvic Floor Disorders ; Pelvic Floor* ; Rehabilitation ; Urethra ; Urinary Incontinence* ; Valsalva Maneuver

The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of pelvic floor muscle (PFM) rehabilitation in males with lifelong premature ejaculation (PE), using intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) and the self-report Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) as primary outcomes. A total of 154 participants were retrospectively reviewed in this study, with 122 completing the training protocol. At baseline, all participants had an IELT ≤60 s and PEDT score >11. Participants completed a 12-week program of PFM rehabilitation, including physio-kinesiotherapy treatment, electrostimulation, and biofeedback, with three sessions per week, with 20 min for each component completed at each session. The effectiveness of intervention was evaluated by comparing the change in the geometric mean of IELT and PEDT values, from baseline, at 3, 6, and 12 months during the intervention, and at 24 and 36 months postintervention, using a paired sample 2-tailed t-test, including the associated 95% confidence intervals. Of the 122 participants who completed PFM rehabilitation, 111 gained control of their ejaculation reflex, with a mean IELT of 161.6 s and PEDT score of 2.3 at the 12-week endpoint of the intervention, representing an increase from baseline of 40.4 s and 17.0 scores, respectively, for IELT and PEDT (P < 0.0001). Of the 95 participants who completed the 36-month follow-up, 64% and 56% maintained satisfactory ejaculation control at 24 and 36 months postintervention, respectively.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Electric Stimulation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle, Skeletal/physiology* ; Pelvic Floor Disorders/rehabilitation* ; Premature Ejaculation/rehabilitation* ; Reflex/physiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult