Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital, Shenzhen Pingshan District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Kejun Li, Department of Rehabilitation, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopedic Hospital (Shenzhen Pingshan District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital), 6100 Pingshan Avenue, Pingshan District, Shenzhen, China. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Scientific treatments for postpartum urinary incontinence, including pelvic floor muscle exercises (such as Kegel exercises) and infrared therapy, can effectively improve pelvic floor and urethral function, thus enhancing quality of life. However, clinical research on the combined use of these interventions for postpartum urinary incontinence is limited. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the combining efficacy of pelvic floor muscle exercises with infrared physiotherapy on postpartum urinary incontinence. METHODS: Clinical information of 102 patients with postpartum urinary incontinence (June 2021–June 2022) were collected and analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into control (conventional intervention) and observation (pelvic floor muscle exercises combined with infrared physiotherapy) groups, with 52 and 50 cases respectively. We compared pelvic floor muscle strength, urodynamic indicators, leakage volume, quality of life, and overall clinical efficacy between the two groups. RESULTS: Before intervention, both groups had similar pelvic floor function scores and urodynamic indicators. Post-intervention, the pelvic floor function scores in the observation group were significantly lower than control. The urodynamic indicator levels of the observation group were markedly higher than control after 2 months of intervention. Leakage volume was similar before intervention, while the observation group had significantly lower volumes after 1 and 2 months of intervention. Quality of life scores were similar initially, but after 2 months, the observation group scored higher. The observation group showed notably better pelvic floor rehabilitation at 2 months post-intervention. CONCLUSION: Combining pelvic floor muscle exercise with infrared physiotherapy has been shown to be a highly effective approach in enhancing pelvic floor muscle strength and improving the quality of life for postpartum women experiencing urinary incontinence. This combined therapy also demonstrates positive effects on urodynamic indicators, reducing leakage volume, and facilitating pelvic floor rehabilitation.
Keywords: Pelvic floor muscle exercise, infrared physiotherapy, postpartum urinary incontinence, quality of life
