Overview
Urinary incontinence is a major clinical side effect following radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer 1. Pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) is the primary rehabilitative approach used to improve postoperative continence 1.Management
Supervised PFME is significantly more effective than unsupervised PFME for reducing short-term urinary incontinence rates 1.
Unsupervised PFME demonstrates similar efficacy to no exercise intervention regarding postoperative incontinence remission 1.
PFME programs should be initiated as an early rehabilitative measure to optimize short-term recovery 1.Key Recommendations
Implement supervised pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) programs to improve short-term urinary incontinence remission in patients following radical prostatectomy 1. (Evidence: Strong)
Initiate PFME as an early rehabilitative measure post-surgery to enhance recovery outcomes 1. (Evidence: Strong)
Prioritize supervised over unsupervised PFME, as unsupervised programs do not provide significant benefits over no exercise 1. (Evidence: Strong)References
1 Baumann FT, Reimer N, Gockeln T, Reike A, Hallek M, Ricci C et al.. Supervised pelvic floor muscle exercise is more effective than unsupervised pelvic floor muscle exercise at improving urinary incontinence in prostate cancer patients following radical prostatectomy - a systematic review and meta-analysis. Disability and rehabilitation 2022. link