pelvic floor therapy vs pessary for incontinence

Category: Pelvic Floor & Prolapse

📊 6 findings in 3 studies + 2 Reddit experiences
Intervention Condition Outcome / Effect Source
📊 Behavioral therapy (pelvic floor muscle
vs Continence pessary (ring or di
Stress urinary incontinence
Postmenopausal Women
At 3 months, significantly more women in the behavioral therapy group had no bothersome stress incon
49% vs 33%
↑ PMC2914312
3 months
📊 Behavioral therapy (pelvic floor muscle
vs Continence pessary
Stress urinary incontinence By 12 months, there were no statistically significant differences between behavioral therapy and pes
32% PGI-I success, 36% PFDI success, 35%
— PMC2914312
12 months
📊 Combined pessary
vs Both pessary alone and behavio
Stress urinary incontinence Combination therapy (pessary + behavioral) was not superior to single-modality therapy because, alth
53% PGI-I, 44% PFDI for combined group
— PMC2914312
3 months
📊 Continence pessary for stress urinary in
vs Behavioral therapy (15% dropou
Stress urinary incontinence
Postmenopausal Women
The pessary group had significantly higher attrition (26% at 3 months) compared to behavioral therap
26% dropout at 3 months for pessary vs 1
Side effects: vaginal discharge 16%, vaginal yeast infection 7%
↓ PMC2914312
12 months
💬 Consistently using squeezy for pelvic fl Stress urinary incontinence Seeking timely help for pelvic floor issues is crucial, especially after experiencing stress urinary Reddit
📊 Combined pessary
vs Both pessary alone and behavio
stress-predominant mixed urinary in Combination therapy (pessary + behavioral) was not superior to single-modality therapy because, alth
53% PGI-I, 44% PFDI for combined group
— PMC2914312
3 months
📊 Pessary
vs Surgery group and pessary cont
symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse
Postmenopausal Women
31 of 80 pessary patients (39%) discontinued pessary use or crossed over to surgery, with reasons in
31 of 80 pessary patients discontinued o
Side effects: discomfort with pessary 47%, persistent bulge symp
↓ PMC5086295
💬 Participating in Vagercise, an online co Stress incontinence Building a strong pelvic floor and core is essential before returning to high-impact exercises like Reddit
Synopsis

At 3 months, pelvic floor muscle training resulted in a higher rate of women reporting no bothersome stress incontinence symptoms compared to pessary use (49% vs 33%). (PMC2914312) By 12 months, there were no statistically significant differences in success rates between behavioral therapy and pessary, with overall success rates around 32-36% across all groups. (PMC2914312) The pessary group experienced a higher attrition rate at 3 months (26%) compared to behavioral therapy (15%) and combined therapy (12%), with vaginal discomfort being a common reason for discontinuation. (PMC2914312) Anecdotal evidence from Reddit suggests that timely pelvic floor strengthening exercises are considered important, especially after childbirth, for managing stress urinary incontinence. (Reddit)

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