Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2014
Effect of pelvic floor muscle training compared with watchful waiting in older women with symptomatic mild pelvic organ prolapse: randomised controlled trial in primary care.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 120 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC urology · 2026Pooled it
- Does the Contractile Capability of Pelvic Floor Muscles Improve with Knowledge Acquisition and Verbal Instructions in Healthy Women? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The effect of pelvic floor muscle training for women with pelvic organ prolapse: a meta-analysis.International urogynecology journal · 2022Pooled it
- Completeness of exercise reporting among randomized controlled trials on pelvic floor muscle training for women with pelvic organ prolapse: A systematic review.Neurourology and urodynamics · 2021Pooled it
- Adverse Events Associated with Nonsurgical Treatments for Urinary Incontinence in Women: a Systematic Review.Journal of general internal medicine · 2019Pooled it
- The efficacy of pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International urogynecology journal · 2016Pooled it
- The effect of a self-care application on the quality of life of women with pelvic organ prolapse: a randomized controlled trial.BMC women's health · 2025Trial
- Effect of midwife-led pelvic floor muscle training on prolapse symptoms and quality of life in women with pelvic organ prolapse in Ethiopia: A Cluster-randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2025Trial
- Clinical and cost-effectiveness of pessary self-management versus clinic-based care for pelvic organ prolapse in women: the TOPSY RCT with process evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Trial
- Long-term pelvic floor symptoms and urogenital prolapse after hysterectomy.BMC women's health · 2023Trial
- Effects of Adding Ultrasound Biofeedback to Individualized Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on Extensibility of the Pelvic Floor Muscle and Anterior Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Postmenopausal Women.Contrast media & molecular imaging · 2022Trial
- Lifestyle advice with or without pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse: a randomized controlled trial.International urogynecology journal · 2016Trial
- Application of patient-reported outcome instruments in nonsurgical management of pelvic organ prolapse: a scoping review.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2026Article
- Flat Magnetic Stimulation in the Conservative Management of Mild Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Retrospective Observational Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Observational
- Innovating Care for Postmenopausal Women Using a Digital Approach for Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions: Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Article
- Impact of a Digital Therapeutic Device on Pelvic Floor Symptoms.Urogynecology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- Central Sensitisation Syndrome: A Frequent Finding in Women with Pelvic Floor Symptoms Without Evident Urogenital Prolapse.International urogynecology journal · 2024Article
- Pelvic floor muscle training in women with urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse: A protocol study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Effect of pelvic floor muscle training on female sexual function: A systematic review protocol and meta-analysis.Nursing open · 2023Article
- scRNA-seq reveals aging-related immune cell types and regulators in vaginal wall from elderly women with pelvic organ prolapse.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the effects of pelvic floor muscle training and watchful waiting on pelvic floor symptoms in a primary care population of women aged 55 years and over with symptomatic mild pelvic organ prolapse.
designRandomised controlled trial.
settingDutch primary care.
participantsWomen aged 55 years or over with symptomatic mild prolapse (leading edge above the hymen) were identified by screening. Exclusion criteria were current prolapse treatment or treatment in the previous year, malignancy of pelvic organs, current treatment for another gynaecological disorder, severe/terminal illness, impaired mobility, cognitive impairment, and insufficient command of the Dutch language.
interventionsPelvic floor muscle training versus watchful waiting.
main outcome measuresThe primary outcome was change in bladder, bowel, and pelvic floor symptoms measured with the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 (PFDI-20), three months after the start of treatment. Secondary outcomes were changes in condition specific and general quality of life, sexual function, degree of prolapse, pelvic floor muscle function, and patients' perceived change in symptoms.
resultsOf the 287 women who were randomised to pelvic floor muscle training (n=145) or watchful waiting (n=142), 250 (87%) completed follow-up. Participants in the intervention group improved by (on average) 9.1 (95% confidence interval 2.8 to 15.4) points more on the PFDI-20 than did participants in the watchful waiting group (P=0.005). Of women in the pelvic floor muscle training group, 57% (82/145) reported an improvement in overall symptoms from the start of the study compared with 13% (18/142) in the watchful waiting group (P<0.001). Other secondary outcomes showed no significant difference between the groups.
conclusionsAlthough pelvic floor muscle training led to a significantly greater improvement in PFDI-20 score, the difference between the groups was below the presumed level of clinical relevance (15 points). Nevertheless, 57% of the participants in the intervention group reported an improvement of overall symptoms. More studies are needed to identify factors related to success of pelvic floor muscle training and to investigate long term effects.Trial registration Dutch Trial Register (www.trialregister.nl) identifier: NTR2047.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.