Randomised controlled pilot trial to assess effect of electrical stimulation of weak pelvic floor muscles.

Ingeborg Hoff Brækken, Tove K L S Villumstad, Natalie Michelle Evensen

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial

In one paragraph

Trial report in Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field

1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

A Randomized Control Trial Comparing Common Errors Made by Women During Three Different Methods of Pelvic Floor Muscle Contraction Training: By Verbal Education vs. Vaginal PalpationTraining vs. Perineometer Training.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025
Trial

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ingeborg Hoff BrækkenDepartment of Research and Innovation, Akershus University Hospital, The Pelvic Floor Centre, Lørenskog, Norway. ingeborg.hoff.braekken@ahus.no.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0608-5116

Tove K L S VillumstadHealth Department Northern Follo Municipality, Kolbotn Physiotherapy Institute, Kolbotn, Norway.

Natalie Michelle EvensenHealth Department Northern Follo Municipality, Centrum Physiotherapy Ski DA, Ski, Norway.

Akershus University Hospital · NONorthern Norway Regional Health Authority · NOTH Köln - University of Applied Sciences · DE

Funding

Norwegian Fund for Post-Graduate Training in Physiotherapy 160604

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introduction and hypothesisPelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) has level 1A scientific evidence for the treatment of urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Past studies, however, have often excluded women with very weak pelvic floor muscles (PFM). The aim was to investigate the hypothesis that intravaginal electrical stimulation (iES) improves PFM strength more than PFMT in women with weak PFM, and to use these results to calculate sample size required for a future large randomised controlled trial (RCT).

methodsThis assessor-blinded pilot RCT had a two arm, parallel design with computer-generated Randomisation. Both groups were offered 12 one-to-one physiotherapy sessions over a 6-month period. The iES group received individual tailored electrical pulse parameters. The PFMT group received PFM exercises, with the addition of facilitation techniques at therapy sessions. A power calculator was used to calculate sample size.

resultsFifteen women were recruited. Eight were randomised to iES and 7 to PFMT. Two subjects dropped out of the iES group. Median age was 49 years (range 36-77) and parity 2.1 (range 1-3). Both groups showed increases in PFM strength measured by manometery (iES 12.3, SD 12.0 vs PFMT 10.0, SD 8.1) cmH

conclusionThere was no significant difference between the groups in improvements in PFM strength. To detect a difference, we would have required 95 women in each group.

Indexed as

Electric Stimulation TherapyMuscle StrengthPelvic FloorAdultAgedExercise TherapyFemaleHumansMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsSingle-Blind MethodTreatment OutcomeElectrical stimulationPelvic floor muscle (PFM) strengthPelvic floor muscle training (PFMT)

Identifiers

PMID38551705

DOI10.1016/j.physio.2010.06.007

PMCPMC11147843

OpenAlexW4393318557

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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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.