Abstract

Aims. This narrative review aims to investigate the effect of adding electrical stimulation (ES) to pelvic floor muscles training (PFMT) in the management of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women. Also, this review aims to provide a framework for future research in order to formulate more comprehensive, lifestyle-centered guidelines for treating women with SUI. Methods. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “Physical therapy modalities”, “Pelvic floor muscle training”, “Exercise”, “Electrical stimulation”, “Interferential”, “Pelvic floor disorders”, “Stress urinary incontinence” and “Women”. Reviewed literature was descriptively analyzed and summarized. Results. ES is effective in the treatment of the SUI comparing to control or placebo treatment, while there is a little evidence that support the use of ES as an additional treatment for women with SUI as studies showed high diversity of ES parameters used. Conclusion. Adding ES to PFMT may be helpful for women who find difficulty to voluntarily contract their pelvic floor muscles. More well-designed studies are needed to strength the evidence of using ES for treatment of women with SUI.

Key words:

electrical stimulation, pelvic floor exercises, stress urinary incontinence, women