[Impact of biofeedback probes used in the self-rehabilitation of pelvic floor muscles in women with stress urinary incontinence. Literature review]

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this review was to identify the evaluated effects of the use of biofeedback probes used in the self-rehabilitation of the pelvic floor muscles, on the muscle function, symptom severity, quality of life, and compliance/adherence to exercise for women with stress urinary incontinence.

Material and method: A literature review was conducted in March 2020 on the PubMed, PEDro and Science Direct databases.

Results: A total of 3 randomised controlled trials (n=167 participants) were included and analysed. The different results found show significant improvements in muscle function with a percentage of 87.5% (P=0.003) of patients improved on the modified Oxford scale, as well as perineometry increasing from 23.06 to 32 (P=0.011). Symptom severity is also improved with a decrease in the number of pads and pad weight in the Pad Test (P<0.005). Concerning quality of life, significant improvements in the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) and the Visual Analogue Scale of Psychological Stress were found, with an improvement in the number of patients in each group at the end of the study (P<0.0005). No results showed a superiority of pelvic floor muscle training with a biofeedback probe compared to training alone.

Conclusion: This review didn't provide real recommendations for the use of home biofeedback probes as an adjunct to pelvic floor muscle training in women with stress urinary incontinence. She suggests that the use of biofeedback probes wouldn't be more effective than training without them.

Keywords: Auto-rééducation; Biofeedback; Entraînement des muscles du plancher pelvien; Incontinence urinaire à l’effort; Pelvic floor muscle training; Self-rehabilitation; Stress urinary incontinence.