Men who suffer from frequent urges to urinate can see their problems reduced by combining pelvic floor exercises with behavioral therapy, according to a new study presented at the congress of the European Association of Urology in Paris, this Monday 8 april.
- A study shows that combining pelvic floor exercises with behavioral therapy may be more effective and beneficial for men suffering from frequent urges to urinate.
- Both of these helped reduce patients’ symptoms and improved their quality of life.
- Further research is needed to confirm the data.
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles located at the base of the pelvis. Its role is to support organs such as the bladder and rectum. Women who have just given birth hear a lot about it during their perineal rehabilitation. But, we often forget that men have them too. It also plays an essential role in the prevention of male urinary disorders.
A German study, presented at the congress of the European Association of Urology which is being held until April 8 in Paris, ensures that combining pelvic floor exercises with behavioral therapy would be more effective than current medical treatments for men having frequent urges to urinate.
Frequent urination in men: pelvic exercises and behavioral therapy reduce problems
For this work, the researchers recruited 237 men with urinary problems. Half of them received traditional medical care. The other half had access to an app offering behavioral therapy aimed at increasing bladder capacity as well as exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. All participants were also asked to keep a urination diary and complete questionnaires on the severity of their symptoms and their overall quality of life.
After 12 weeks, the results showed significant improvements in symptoms and quality of life measures of volunteers who followed the therapy and the exercise program offered via the Kranus Lutera app. Members of this group showed a reduction in symptom score of 7 points. The level of inconvenience caused by the disturbances decreased by 18 points.
In addition, the team compared data from patients whose symptoms were due to an overactive bladder with those suffering from an enlarged prostate. She found that both groups benefited from the therapy. However, she specifies that she has not yet compared the effect of the treatment on different forms of bladder emptying disorders.
Pelvic exercises and urinary disorders: further research needed
“Many men with bladder emptying disorders are aging and have other health problems that require drug treatments. The limited medications available to us are not suitable for these patients due to their side effects. For people with mild to moderate urinary symptoms, this digital therapy is side effect free and improves symptoms to a magnitude never seen before. Simply strengthening the pelvic floor makes all the difference, it’s a no-brainer.”assures Professor Christian Gratzke, from the University Hospital of Freiburg in Germany, who co-led the trial, in a communicated.
“We now need a larger trial examining the long-term effect of this application-based therapy after 12 weeks for different forms of bladder emptying disorders. If offered on a large scale, this treatment could “Radically change clinical practice and relieve symptoms without exposing patients to medications. We could avoid many unnecessary prescriptions for medications that typically provide little benefit.”adds Jean-Nicolas Cornu, professor of urology at the Charles Nicolle hospital in France and member of the scientific congress office of the European Association of Urology.
