Trial reportBMC women's health2021
Vaginal palpation versus transabdominal ultrasound in the comprehension of pelvic floor muscle contraction after vaginal delivery: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC women's health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging as Visual Biofeedback in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: A Narrative Review.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2026Review
- Novel Method of Measuring Pelvic Floor Muscle Motion May Improve Accessibility of Pelvic Floor Muscle Coordination Training.International urogynecology journal · 2024Article
- Pelvic floor muscle contraction automatic evaluation algorithm for pelvic floor muscle training biofeedback using self-performed ultrasound.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- The Correlation between Transperineal Shear-Wave Elastography and Transabdominal Ultrasound When Assessing Pelvic Floor Function in Nulliparous Women.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPelvic floor muscles support the pelvic organs and control voiding. The first choice in the repair of pelvic floor function that is damaged during pregnancy and delivery is pelvic floor muscle training, which involves repeated muscle relaxation and contraction. However, as muscle contractions cannot be visualised, it is difficult to assess whether patients understand how to contract them. Therefore, we assessed patients' comprehension of pelvic floor muscle contraction by comparing two teaching methods, vaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound, following vaginal delivery. We hypothesised that vaginal palpation is better than transabdominal ultrasound in this regard.
methodsThis randomised controlled trial conducted in facilities in Tokyo, Japan between July 2018 and January 2019 included women aged ≥ 20 years at 4-6 weeks after vaginal delivery. The randomisation involved website-based centralised allocation. The primary outcome was a change in bladder base displacement during pelvic floor muscle contraction before and after training, which was measured using transabdominal ultrasound. Participants performed three contractions for 3 s, and the mean value was used for statistical analysis. The secondary outcome was a change in understanding the contraction before and after training, which was measured using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Outcomes were analysed using Welch's t-test.
resultsSixty-five participants were randomly allocated to the vaginal palpation group (n = 32) and transabdominal ultrasound group (n = 33). Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups. Changes in bladder base displacement were not significantly different between the groups (p = 0.181). Within-group analyses showed that bladder base displacement was large in both groups after the respective intervention. There were no significant differences in any of the outcomes between the two groups before and after the intervention.
conclusionsVaginal palpation and transabdominal ultrasound might be useful for comprehending pelvic floor muscle contraction after vaginal delivery.
trial registrationUMIN 000032304. Registered 18 April 2018, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/icdr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000036820 .
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