Predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum stress urinary incontinence

Objective: To identify predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Design: Secondary analysis of data from a single-blind randomized controlled trial comparing 2 physiotherapy intervention programs for persistent SUI in postpartum women.

Setting: Obstetric clinic of a mother and children's university hospital.

Participants: Women, ages 23 to 39 (N=57), were randomized to 1 of 2 pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training programs, 1 with and 1 without abdominal muscle training.

Intervention: Over 8 weeks, participants in each group followed a specific home exercise program once a day, 5 days a week. In addition, participants attended individual weekly physiotherapy sessions throughout the 8-week program.

Main outcome measures: Treatment success was defined as a pad weight gain of less than 2 g on a 20-minute pad test with standardized bladder volume after 8 weeks' treatment. The relationship between potential predictive PFM function variables as measured by a PFM dynamometer and success of physiotherapy was studied using forward stepwise multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Results: Forty-two women (74%) were classified as treatment successes, and 15 (26%) were not. Treatment success was associated with lower pretreatment PFM passive force and greater PFM endurance pretreatment, but the latter association was barely statistically significant. This model explained between 23% (Cox and Snell R(2)) and 34% (Nagelkerke R(2)) of the outcome variability.

Conclusions: The results contribute new information on predictors of success for physiotherapy treatment in women with persistent postpartum SUI.