Age-stratified Outcome of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise for Urinary Incontinence

Pelvic floor muscle exercise is an established conservative treatment for female urinary incontinence. Up to now, the investigators don't know whether treatment outcome in elderly women is as good as in younger premenopausal women. The International Incontinence Society states 2009: "There is no good evidence to date to suggest that "healthy" older women with urinary incontinence do not benefit from pelvic floor muscle training as much as younger women".

In this retrospective study the investigators analyze patient charts from 2003-2008 regarding subjective patients and physiotherapists reported outcome after physiotherapy as well as for objective parameters like the need of an incontinence surgery in the follow-up of at least 2 years.

Eligibility criteria are age younger than 50 years (premenopausal) and age older than 65 years and a urodynamically proven urinary incontinence. As incontinence forms the investigators include in this study the following three form: stress urinary incontinence, mixed urinary incontinence and urgency urinary incontinence.

Inclusion criteria

• premenopausal women (<50 years) with urodynamically proven urinary incontinence
• postmenopausal women (>65 years) with urodynamically proven urinary incontinence
• 9 sessions of pelvic floor muscle exercise in a professional kinesiological setting inbetween 2003-2008
• follow up regarding need of incontinence operation up to June 2011

Exclusion criteria

• women aged 50-65 years with urodynamically proven urinary incontinence
• stool incontinence