Impacto de seis semanas de treinamento com Método Pilates no tratamento da Incontinência Urinária de Esforço em mulheres

Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the impact of six weeks of Pilates training on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) strength and urinary incontinence (UI) severity in women. METHODS: This is a clinical study, with only one intervention, in which were included 23 participants with complaint of involuntary urine leakage during efforts. All participants underwent to pre and post intervention evaluation in which were included vaginal palpation to evaluate and to classify PFM strength, vaginal manometry in order to verify vaginal squeeze pressure. At last they answered the validated questionnaire ICIQ-SF, in order to investigate frequency, severity and impact of UI in these women. The treatment protocol was conducted twice a week, 50-min duration each appointment, during 6 weeks, lasting 12 session. For statistical analysis was used Wilcoxon test in order to compare before and after results. RESULTS: There was an increase of PFM strength (pre 1.7 ±0.7 and post 2.5 ±0.7) as well as vaginal squeeze pressure (pre 21.4 ±12.9 and post 28.0 ±13.6). On the other hand, ICIQ-SF scores decreased (pre 13.8 ±3.8 and post 8.3 ±4.9). CONCLUSION: Six weeks of Pilates method training can strengthen PFM and decrease UI severity in women, improving their quality of life.