Trial reportInternational urogynecology journal2019
Effects of perineal preparation techniques on tissue extensibility and muscle strength: a pilot study.
Trial report in International urogynecology journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Effect of Perineum Massage Applied With and Without an Instrument in the Active Phase of Labor Birth Outcomes: A Randomized Clinical Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2024Trial
- Pelvic Floor Health and Urinary Incontinence in Female Soccer Players: A Comparative Analysis Between Professionals and Physically Active Women: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Protocol.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice of Chinese midwives performing in perineal massage for pregnant women in the latter stages of pregnancy.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- A case report of spontaneous bilateral perineal hematoma during pregnancy and literature review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Review
- Antenatal Perineal Training for Injuries Prevention: Follow Up after Puerperium.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Article
- Obstetrical Soft Tissue Trauma during Spontaneous Vaginal Birth in the Romanian Adolescent Population-Multicentric Comparative Study with Adult Population.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Knowledge, attitude and experience of episiotomy practice among obstetricians and midwives: a cross-sectional study from China.BMJ open · 2021Article
- In vivo assessment of the elastic properties of women's pelvic floor during pregnancy using shear wave elastography: design and protocol of the ELASTOPELV study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introduction and hypothesisPerineal preparation techniques for childbirth have been used with the aim of reducing perineal tears during the expulsive phase of labor. However, no studies were found to investigate the effects of instrument-assisted stretching versus perineal massage on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) variables. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of instrument-assisted stretching versus perineal massage on the extensibility and strength of the PFMs.
methodsPrimiparous women were randomized to the instrument-assisted stretching (IStr) group (n = 13) and perineal massage (PnM) group (n = 14). The groups participated in eight sessions, twice weekly, beginning at the 34th gestational week. The IStr group underwent the intervention for 15 min using EPI-NO®. The PnM group underwent a perineal massage protocol for 10 min. Each woman was evaluated by a blinded physiotherapist before, after four and after eight sessions for primary (PFM extensibility using the EPI-NO® circumference) and secondary (PFM strength using a manometer) outcomes. Covariate analysis (ANCOVA) was used to compare the groups using the baseline values as a covariate.
resultsBoth groups showed an increase in PFM extensibility compared with the evaluations before and after four and eight sessions (PnM group from 17.6 ± 1.8 to 20.2 ± 1.9 cm; IStr group from 19.9 ± 1.6 to 22.9 ± 1.6 cm;p < 0.001). There was no difference between groups. Regarding muscle strength, no statistical differences were observed between evaluations or between groups.
conclusionsInstrument-assisted stretching and perineal massage increase extensibility and do not alter the strength of PFMs in pregnant women.
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.