A nurse-led long-term pelvic floor muscle training program in the management of female patients with overactive bladder – A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundPrevious research has suggested that pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) offers a therapeutic benefit in patients with overactive bladder.MethodsWe conducted a single-blind, randomized trial of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) as compared with usual care. The intervention group (n = 54) received a 6-month a nurse-led long-term pelvic floor muscle training program (three sessions a day, 15–20 times per session) and the control group (n = 53) received usual care. All patients received 3-month solifenacin succinate tablets (5 mg – once daily). The treatment outcomes were measured by the Modified Oxford Scale (MOS), Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS) and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ) at baseline, 3 months and 6 months respectively.ResultsOf the 91 randomly assigned patients, 46 patients in the PFMT group and 45 patients in the control group completed the trial. The trial revealed statistically significant differences between groups in pelvic muscle strength at 3 months following the intervention (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was found between two groups in OABSS scores (p > 0.05). In regards to quality of life, the experimental group showed significant improvements compared to the control group on 6 of 10 domains (p < 0.05). At 6 months, there were significant improvements in OABSS scores and quality of life in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). No adverse events were observed.ConclusionA nurse-led long-term (6 months) pelvic floor muscle training program may alleviate OAB symptoms effectively and improve the quality of life more than a short term (3 months) pelvic floor muscle training program combined with solifenacin succinate tablets.