Pelvic Floor Muscle Training and Kaatsu Training for Women With Stress Urinary Incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence (SU) is a common problem among adult women . Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is recommended as first line treatment but PFMT is not always efficient and some women cannot comply with the intensive PFMT needed to obtain effect because of weakened or damaged muscles caused by vaginal delivery and age related changes.

Hypothetically alternative methods could be used to enhance the effect of a strength-training program. A low intensity training program with a simultaneous partial occlusion of the blood supply for the training muscle, so called "Kaatsu" training has been found to increase muscle strength faster than ordinary strength training but with much less effort. It seems difficult to make occlusion of the pelvic floor muscles during PFMT but a study found that low intensity training of the quadriceps femoris with partial occlusion of the blood supply did not only increase muscle strength of the quadriceps femoris muscle but also of the biceps humeri muscle if that muscle was trained with low-load training and no occlusion in the same training session. The specific reason for this this "cross-transfer effect" could not be fully explained but it was believed to be caused by a systemic effect caused by growth hormones. The aim of this study is therefore to examine if Kaatsu training offered in relation to a low-load PFMT program can increase the effect of PFMT in women with SUI

Inclusion criteria

• ICIQ-SF ≥ 12
• Urinary stress incontinence
• Ability to contract pelvic floor muscles
• Normal bladder capacity and normal flow during micturition with at least one micturition of > 350 ml

Exclusion criteria

• Urgency urinary incontinence
• Cognitive problems
• Physical inability to perform Kaatsu program
• Inability to understand and read Danish