A rehabilitation programme focussing on pelvic floor muscle training for persistent lumbopelvic pain after childbirth: A randomized controlled trial.
Hui Wang, Xiaolan Feng, Zishu Liu and 2 others
PMID 33723616WHAT IT FOUND
Adding biofeedback-assisted pelvic floor muscle training to standard stabilization exercises reduced pain and disability more than standard care alone at 12 weeks.
However, the mental component of quality of life did not improve, suggesting physical symptoms respond better than psychological well-being.
Key findings
01The intervention group had significantly lower pain scores and better functional performance than the control group at 12 weeks.
02Physical quality of life improved significantly in the intervention group, but mental quality of life did not differ between groups.
03Both groups received routine stabilization exercises, making it difficult to separate the specific contribution of the added pelvic floor training from the electrical stimulation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study only included women who had vaginal deliveries, limiting generalizability to those who had caesarean sections. Home exercise compliance and quality were not assessed after the initial supervised period. The intervention involved multiple components (stabilization exercises, pelvic floor training, and electrical stimulation), making it difficult to isolate the effect of pelvic floor training alone. The 12-week duration may not reflect long-term outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not attribute the entire benefit to pelvic floor muscle training alone. The intervention group also received neuromuscular electrical stimulation and standard stabilization exercises, and the control group received electrical stimulation and stabilization exercises. The specific additive effect of the pelvic floor component versus the electrical stimulation cannot be fully separated from these results.