Pelvic Floor News and Research

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The pelvic floor is a thin but strong sheet of muscle and connective tissue that closes off the pelvic cavity from below. It supports the pelvic organs, which include the urinary bladder, the uterus, cervix and vagina, and the last part of the large bowel (the rectum) in women. In men, it contains the bladder and the rectum.

Weight loss and exercise reduces urinary incontinence in women with prediabetes

Losing a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity reduces the occurrence of urinary incontinence (UI) in women with prediabetes, a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet diabetic.

27 Jan 2006

Pelvic floor muscle training helps reduce urinary incontinence in women

Leakage of urine when a person coughs or sneezes (stress incontinence) or from involuntary contraction of the bladder (urge incontinence) is a common problem for people living in the community.

25 Jan 2006

Perineal massage helps childbirth

Low-tech, at-home preparation in the last month before childbirth could help pregnant mothers avoid one of the more common surgeries performed on women in the United States, a new review suggests.

25 Jan 2006

Childbirth not linked to urinary incontinence

Postmenopausal women who have given birth vaginally do not appear to suffer from urinary incontinence at higher rates than their sisters who have never given birth, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study published in the December Obstetrics and Gynecology journal.

2 Dec 2005

Australian stem cell discovery hailed as a major medical and scientific development

Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) senior scientist Dr Caroline Gargett's discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus that can be grown into bone, muscle, fat and cartilage, has been hailed as a major medical and scientific development by international reproduction experts.

20 Jul 2005

Australian discovery of adult stem cells in the uterus

19 Jul 2005

Researchers recommend pelvic floor disorders be part of routine physical exams for all women

While most women suffer from pelvic floor disorders (PFD), the majority don’t seek help until they are incontinent.

28 Jun 2005

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) affects 48.2 percent of women

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that female sexual dysfunction (FSD) affects 48.2 percent of women in a new study and that these women had decreased sensation in the clitoris, which increased the risk of sexual dysfunction.

26 May 2005

Physiotherapy is effective in treating stress incontinence

Physiotherapy is effective in treating stress incontinence in about 80 per cent of cases, according to the first national study undertaken in clinical practice by researchers at the University of South Australia.

20 May 2005

Episiotomy usually provides no benefits

According to a systematic review of existing studies, to appear in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the surgical procedure known as an episiotomy, performed in up to 35 percent of U.S. vaginal births, usually provides no benefits.

5 May 2005

Pelvic floor exercises versus ‘holding on’ in treatment of incontinence

Pelvic floor muscle exercises could feel the squeeze when they go up against toilet techniques in a new study to find the best way to treat incontinence.

15 Mar 2005

Quicker recovery time with new laparoscopic hysterectomy

More than 600,000 hysterectomies are performed every year in the United States at a cost of $5 billion, which doesn't take into account the 144 million work hours lost to the average six-week recovery time. Billie Williams of Grapevine had been considering having one for years, but major surgery and a long convalescence didn't fit with her plans.

1 Mar 2005

Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder

Pfizer today announced results of a comprehensive six-year review of efficacy and safety data for Detrol LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules) indicating that Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) with a low occurrence of side effects, and should be considered first-line therapy.

13 Dec 2004

Episiotomy does not reduce the risk of injury to infants during a complicated birth

A new study from Johns Hopkins suggests that routine widening of the vagina, a procedure known as an episiotomy, does not reduce the risk of injury to infants during a complicated birth, such as when a baby's shoulders are stuck in the birth canal after the head is already out.

4 Oct 2004

Yentreve available in Europe for treatment of stress urinary incontinence

Yentreve (duloxetine hydrochloride) is now available in certain European countries, giving women suffering from moderate to severe stress urinary incontinence (SUI) a pharmaceutical treatment option for the first time.

13 Sep 2004

Evidence of pelvic floor nerve injury after routine vaginal birth

Women with pelvic floor disorders suffer from urinary and fecal incontinence as well as prolapse of the bowel, bladder and reproductive organs. (Bowel prolapse occurs when the bowel slips out of place, and pushes up against the walls of the vagina, which may cause a great deal of discomfort.)

20 Aug 2004

New studies on the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis and the treatment of prostatitis

Antimicrobials Ineffective in Treating Chronic Prostatitis / Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/PPS): Though the traditional means of treating men with CP/PPS, use of antibiotics and alpha-adrenergic receptor blockers (tamsulosin and ciprofloxacin) did not lead to significant change after six and 12 weeks of treatment.

10 May 2004

Female incontinence and sexual dysfunction questions answered

Kristene Whitmore, M.D., an AUA spokesperson and director of the Pelvic Floor Institute at the Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, will be on hand to answer reporter questions about incontinence and female sexual dysfunction on Sunday, May 9, 2004 at 3:00 p.m.

10 May 2004

New bladder control device for women

An estimated one-third of all women experience it at some point and few are willing to talk about it, but urinary incontinence affects more than 15 million Americans and 1.5 million Canadians. Now, thanks to the innovative patent of a pelvic floor muscle trainer for at-home use, women can take control of the problem.

29 Apr 2004

Decreased collagen may make women more susceptible to pelvic organ prolapse

Decreased collagen levels might make some women more susceptible to pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence, according to a new study by physicians at Temple University School of Medicine and Temple University Hospital. The study, “Collagen content of nonsupport tissue in pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence,” appears in a recent issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

22 Mar 2004