Urinary incontinence is a prevalent condition among women of all ages and has a considerably negative effect on quality of life.
In a recent study1, education about the pelvic floor muscles made women more aware about the pelvic floor muscles' functions and potential dysfunctions, but this was not a substitute for pelvic floor muscle training with a physiotherapist. In a new study, pelvic floor muscle training for post-menopausal women by a physiotherapist significantly increased pelvic floor muscle strength (by 4.5 cmH2O), and significantly decreased the prevalence of urinary incontinence (OR 0.36).
However, these benefits have been observed before and were not the main focus of the new study. Instead, the new study, which involved investigators from Brazil, Australia and Norway, focused on whether the use of hormone replacement therapy had any influence on the amount of benefit obtained from the pelvic floor muscle training.
