Pelvic muscle exercise for stress urinary incontinence in elderly women.
OBJECTIVE
To compare pelvic muscle exercise to pharmacologic treatment of stress urinary incontinence, the most common cause of urine leakage reported by community-living elderly women.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 157 community-living women, aged 55 to 90 years, after completion of a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.


METHODS
Eighty-two subjects were randomly assigned to the exercise protocol (with a 34% attrition rate). Pelvic muscle exercises were taught and monitored for 6 months. Phenylpropanolamine hydrochloride was given to the other group in a dose of 50 mg a day, increasing to 50 mg twice a day.


RESULTS
Treatment outcomes (subjective improvement, self recorded frequency of wetting) were equally satisfactory in both groups. The response to exercises was as good in 5 months as in 6. It was also as good when the minimum recommended number of exercises per day was 80 as when it was 125.


CONCLUSIONS
Among those completing the protocol, pelvic exercises were beneficial in reducing stress incontinence, and the benefit was comparable to that produced by phenylpropanolamine.
Wells
T J
TJ
University of Rochester, School of Nursing, NY 14642.
Brink
C A
CA
Diokno
A C
AC
Wolfe
R
R
Gillis
G L
GL
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002985:Clinical Protocols / Q000592:standards; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010388:Pelvis; D010665:Phenylpropanolamine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D014563:Urodynamics
D010665:Phenylpropanolamine