Pelvic Floor Muscle Training vs. Pilates Exercises for Urinary Incontinence

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Urinary Incontinence , Stress

In brief

Urinary incontinence (UI) affects approximately 40% of postmenopausal women and is therefore considered a public health problem. Conservative treatment is recommended, and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is considered the gold standard for this condition. However, other exercise options have been studied, such as Pilates exercises, which focus on stabilizing muscles and require voluntary contraction of the pelvic floor muscles. The literature remains inconclusive regarding the effects of Pilates exercises on urinary incontinence and pelvic floor muscle function. Objective: To compare the effects of 3 months of muscle training, through PFMT and Pilates exercises, on improving UI in postmenopausal women. Methods: Twenty-four postmenopausal women with urinary incontinence will be randomized into two intervention groups: pelvic floor muscle training and mat Pilates exercises. Assessments will be conducted before and after three months of intervention and will include the following instruments: urinary incontinence and quality of life, assessed using the International Consultation of Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI-SF) questionnaire; a 7-day voiding diary to identify potential modifiable factors related to urination and its frequency; a Pad test to identify and quantify UI; the Female Sexual Function Index to assess female sexual function; and pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance by bidigital palpation using the PERFECT test. Shapiro-Wilk tests will be used to assess normality, Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test according to parametric or nonparametric distribution, and ANCOVA will be used to compare groups post-intervention, considering a 95% confidence interval (p\<0.05). Data will be processed using SPSS 25.0.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07212478
Run by: Universidade Estadual do Norte do Parana
People needed: 24
Starts: 2025-09-29
Expected to finish: 2025-12-26
Last updated by the study team: 2025-10-08

Who can join

Age: 50 and older, up to 70. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Being naturally post-menopause (at least one year without menstruating);
Demonstrate independence to carry out activities of daily living;
Have a report of urinary loss when performing physical exertion.

You may not qualify if…

Women who have had hysterectomy or oophorectomy surgery;
Women who underwent cancer treatment with hormone therapy;
Present cognitive deficits or neurological diseases;
Practice any type of physical activity regularly in the last six months; Present inability to hire PFM (Oxford Scale < 1);
Report pain or discomfort in the vulva or vagina;
Present dyspareunia, vaginismus or pelvic organ prolapse greater than grade II in the Baden-Walker classification;
Present symptoms of urinary infection at the time of evaluation;
Have participated in previous pelvic floor reeducation programs.

Where it is running

Laís Campos de Oliveira — Jacarezinho, Paraná, Brazil (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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