The effects of wearing supportive underwear versus pelvic floor muscle training or no treatment in women with stress urinary incontinence

This study investigated the use of ready-made supportive underwear (shaper) and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This study found that both shaper and PFMT are effective treatment options for SUI. 

Urinary incontinence is the unintentional loss of urine. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) happens when physical movement or activity — such as coughing, sneezing, running or heavy lifting — puts pressure (stress) on the bladder. This can be more common in menopausal women or in women who have given birth. Ready-made supportive underwear (shaper) was effective in reducing SUI symptoms. Another option is pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) at home using a training compact disc with music. 

It is unclear which treatment is more effective for SUI in women. 

This study included 89 female patients with SUI. They were randomly assigned to three groups. 30 patients were in the shaper group, 31 in the PFMT group, and 28 women received no treatment (control group). Their symptoms were assessed at the beginning of the study and at the 6th and 12th week. 

At 12 weeks, 73.3% of women had improvement (of at least 50% from the beginning) of symptoms in the shaper group. 74.2% of the PFMT group had improvements. 25.0% of the women in the no treatment group had improvements. No side effects were reported for any treatment group.

This study found that shaper and PFMT are effective treatment options for SUI in women. 

Patients in the PFMT and the control group were not evaluated for the type of underwear. They might have also worn a type of supportive underwear. This might affect the results.