Efeitos da técnica de eletroestimulação do nervo tibial em mulheres com bexiga neurogênica hiperativa pós acidente vascular encefálico

Abstract

Stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is a serious public health problem. One of the disorders resulting from the stroke is the neurogenic bladder (BN), being characterized as a dysfunction of the urinary bladder and urethra that directly affects the quality of life of patients. Electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve (ETNS) is one of the therapeutic modalities used to treat BN. Although there is much evidence about ETNS in patients with overactive bladder, little is known about the effects of ETNS in patients with overactive neurogenic bladder. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify the effects of the ETNS technique in women with hyperactive neurogenic bladder after stroke. For the development of the study, 11 women from 40 to 70 years old, with a medical diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke and with overactive bladder were selected. The women were evaluated before and after the physical therapy intervention using the ICIQ-SF questionnaire, which evaluates the impact generated by the loss of urine, the voiding diary that quantifies the number of losses and the voiding frequency, and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire which is used to assess patients' quality of life. The women received treatment for 12 sessions, performed twice a week, using the TENS current (F = 10Hz, 200ms) for 30 minutes. The results showed a reduction in the final ICIQ-SF values (p <0.001) of urinary losses (p = 0.003), and also revealed an improvement in quality of life related to psychological aspects (p = 0.014) and social relationships (p = 0.027) of the WHOOQOL-BREF questionnaire. It is concluded that the electrical stimulation of the tibial nerve was able to reduce the number of urinary losses and its impact, in addition to improving the quality of life of women with hyperactive neurogenic bladder after stroke.