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Does pelvic floor muscle training improve female sexual function? A systematic review

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Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis

We performed a review of the literature reporting on the effects of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on female sexual function (SF).

Methods

Pubmed (from 1946 to December 2014), Ovid Medline (from 1946 to December 2014), CINAHL (from 1937 to December 2014), PsycINFO (from 1805 to December 2014), Scopus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched by two independent reviewers. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the impact of PFMT on women’s SF published in English were included. Methodological quality was scored using the PEDro scale. Data were analysed qualitatively and interpreted.

Results

A total of 1341 women were included in the eight RCTs covered by this review. The studies were published between 1997 and 2014. Methodological scores were between 4 and 7. The sample included derived from heterogeneous populations of women. In only one study was SF the primary outcome measure. Pelvic floor dysfunction was an inclusion criterion in the majority of studies. Most studies reported a significant improvement in SF score after PFMT between control and intervention groups.

Conclusions

Although most studies indicated an improvement of at least one sexual variable in women with pelvic floor dysfunction, and one study demonstrated an improvement in SF in postpartum women selected independently of their continence status, the results need to be interpreted with caution. High-quality RCTs specifically designed to investigate the impact of PFMT on women’s SF are required.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all Urogynecology Department staff of the Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne, VIC, Australia and especially to Christine Murray and Elizabeth Thomas.

Funding

The first author received a scholarship from São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP- 2012/215239).

Conflict of Interest

None

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes, 3900 Monte Alegre, 14049-900, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

    Cristine Homsi Jorge Ferreira

  2. Mercy Hospital for Women (Fellowship/2013), Department of Urogynecology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Cristine Homsi Jorge Ferreira

  3. Department of Urogynecology, Mercy Hospital for Women, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Peter L. Dwyer

  4. Remarkable Physios, PO Box 2006, Wakatipu, 9349, New Zealand

    Melissa Davidson

  5. Department of Urogynaecology, Mercy Hospital for Women, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Alison De Souza

  6. Department of Urogynecology, Hospital Padre Hurtado-Santiago-Chile, Mercy Hospital for Women (Fellowship/2012-2013), Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Julio Alvarez Ugarte

  7. Centre for Allied Health Research and Education, Cabrini Health, School of Allied Health La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Helena C. Frawley

Authors
  1. Cristine Homsi Jorge Ferreira
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  2. Peter L. Dwyer
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  3. Melissa Davidson
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  4. Alison De Souza
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  6. Helena C. Frawley
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Correspondence to Cristine Homsi Jorge Ferreira.

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Ferreira, C.H.J., Dwyer, P.L., Davidson, M. et al. Does pelvic floor muscle training improve female sexual function? A systematic review. Int Urogynecol J 26, 1735–1750 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-015-2749-y

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