Obstetrics & Gynecology · 2 h ago
Pelvic floor training plus education improves genitourinary symptoms in small menopause trial
A randomized controlled trial in 58 postmenopausal women found that adding supervised pelvic floor muscle training to education improved genitourinary syndrome of menopause symptoms compared with education alone. The eight-week study also reported improvements in urinary incontinence impact and pelvic floor strength, but longer-term outcomes remain uncertain.
- Trial randomized 58 postmenopausal women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
- Eight-week supervised training plus education improved symptoms versus education alone.
- Pelvic floor strength and urinary incontinence impact also improved.
- Small sample and absent effect sizes limit clinical interpretation.
A randomized controlled trial published in Menopause evaluated pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) combined with structured education for genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM). Investigators randomized 58 postmenopausal women with GSM to PFMT plus education (n=28) or education alone (n=30). Training was supervised and progressive over eight weeks. Primary outcomes were vulvovaginal and urogenital symptom levels; analyses used both intention-to-treat and per-protocol approaches.
Women receiving combined treatment had greater reductions in vulvovaginal and urogenital symptoms, urinary incontinence impact, and sexual quality-of-life scores. Reported differences in incontinence impact and sexual quality-of-life scores were statistically significant (P<0.001). Pelvic floor strength (P=0.001) and the proportion able to stop urine flow (P=0.010) were also higher in the combined-treatment group. Vasomotor, psychosocial, and physical quality-of-life subdomains did not differ significantly between groups.
The findings support further evaluation of supervised PFMT as an addition to GSM-specific education. However, the small sample and short intervention period limit conclusions about durability. The supplied abstract provides no absolute changes, effect sizes, or confidence intervals, making the magnitude and clinical importance of the benefits difficult to assess. Larger studies with long-term follow-up are needed.
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Menopause: Effects of pelvic floor muscle training combined with patient education in genitourinary syndrome of menopause: a randomized controlled trial ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.