Assessment of the Short-Term Effects after High-Inductive Electromagnetic Stimulation of Pelvic Floor Muscles: A Randomized, Sham-Controlled Study.

Physiotherapy should be performed by patients with stress or mixed urinary incontinence (SUI and MUI) to increase the strength and endurance of the pelvic floor muscles (PFMs). A method that can positively affect the pelvic floor is stimulation with high-inductive electromagnetic stimulation (HIES). The aim of the study was to evaluate the PFMs after the application of HIES in women with SUI and MUI by using surface electromyography (sEMG).

This was a prospective, randomized, single-blind study with a sham intervention group. The participants were randomly assigned to the HIES group or sham group. The outcomes were features of the bioelectrical PFM activity assessed using sEMG and endovaginal probes. A single-session intervention in the HIES group included 20 min of HIES with an electromagnetic induction intensity of 2.5 T.

In the HIES group, there was a statistically significant difference in the PFM sEMG activity during "contractions" (p < 0.001) and "quick flicks" (p = 0.005). In the intergroup comparison, higher PFM sEMG activity after the intervention ("contraction") was observed in the HIES group than in the sham group (after: p = 0.047; 1 h after: p = 0.017).

The assessed HIES method seems effective for SUI and MUI patients in the short term and shows an advantage over the sham intervention in the assessment of PFM contractions.

Journal of clinical medicine. 2020 Mar 23*** epublish ***

Kuba Ptaszkowski, Bartosz Malkiewicz, Romuald Zdrojowy, Lucyna Ptaszkowska, Malgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz

Department of Clinical Biomechanics and Physiotherapy in Motor System Disorders, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Grunwaldzka 2, 50-355 Wroclaw, Poland., Department and Clinic of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Borowska 213, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland., Department of Physiotherapy, Opole Medical School, Katowicka 68, 45-060 Opole, Poland.