The role of pelvic floor exercises on XXXX .

@entity1 @entity1690 @entity322
PURPOSE: Post-radical prostatectomy @entity322 occurs in 0.5% to 87% of @entity1 . This condition may be attributable to intrinsic @entity1690 , and/or detrusor abnormalities. Previous studies of pelvic floor exercise (PFE) for improving @entity322 have shown mixed results. We determined whether preoperative and early postoperative biofeedback enhanced PFE with a dedicated physical therapist would improve the early return of @entity322 . MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 38 consecutive @entity1 undergoing radical prostatectomy from November 1998 to June 1999 were randomly assigned to a control or a treatment group. The treatment group of 19 @entity1 was referred to physical therapy and underwent PFE sessions before and after surgery. @entity1 were also given instructions to continue PFE at home twice daily after surgery. The control group of 19 @entity1 underwent surgery without formal PFE instructions. All @entity1 completed postoperative @entity322 at 6, 12, 16, 20, 28 and 52 weeks. @entity322 was measured by the number of pads used with 0 or 1 daily defined as continence. RESULTS: Overall 66% of the @entity1 were continent at 16 weeks. A greater fraction of the treatment group regained urinary continence earlier compared with the control group at 12 weeks (p <0.05). Three control and 2 treatment group @entity1 had severe @entity322 (greater than 3 pads daily) at 16 and 52 weeks. Of all @entity1 82% regained continence by 52 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: PFE therapy instituted prior to radical prostatectomy aids in the earlier achievement of @entity322 . However, PFE has limited benefit in @entity1 with severe @entity322 16 weeks after surgery. There is a minimal long-term benefit of PFE training since continence rates at 1 year were similar in the 2 groups.
