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.

Exploring sexual health challenges in women with pelvic floor disorders

Many women experience problems due to a weakened or damaged pelvic floor. These ailments are most common in pregnant women, women who have recently given birth, and menopausal women. However, pelvic floor disorders can affect all women.

10 Jan 2025

Long radiotherapy course shows better organ preservation in rectal cancer

The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled researchers to show that a long course of radiotherapy given before surgery may be a better treatment for avoiding surgery, preserving the rectum and anus, and preventing regrowth of the primary tumor than a short course of radiotherapy for patients with rectal cancer – a type of bowel cancer.

11 Sep 2024

New guidelines for the evaluation and management of chronic constipation

The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) has issued updated guidelines, published in Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, about how to evaluate and manage chronic constipation. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

11 Sep 2024

Yoga and stretching offer relief for urinary incontinence in older women

Older women struggling with urinary incontinence can benefit from regular, low-impact exercise, with yoga as well as stretching and strengthening showing benefits in a new study published Aug. 27 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

6 Sep 2024

Menopause myths: Separating fact from fiction

Many women approach menopause with anxiety about the future. You've probably heard your grandmother, mother, or aunts lament about menopause, aka "the change," as a stressful time full of hot flashes, weight gain, and plummeting sex drive.

6 Aug 2024

Groundbreaking device revolutionizes pelvic floor training for physiotherapists

Pelvic floor problems like incontinence, prolapse, trouble going to the toilet and pain during sex are all too common, and often the best line of treatment is physio.

5 Aug 2024

Survey: Most Americans believe it's normal for women to experience pain and incontinence post-childbirth

A new national survey by the Orlando Health Advanced Rehabilitation Institute finds most Americans believe it's normal for women to experience pain, pressure and incontinence after having children.

15 Jul 2024

New option emerges for managing stress urinary incontinence

An investigational medication designated TAS-303 shows efficacy and safety in treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI), reports a placebo-controlled clinical trial in the August issue of The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

12 Jul 2024

UniSA research highlights key pain concepts for managing pelvic pain

A new study from the University of South Australia is putting people’s experiences of pelvic pain at the front of pain education to develop better pain management strategies and improved outcomes.

23 Apr 2024

Waist circumference-to-height ratio strongly predicts fecal incontinence

Fecal incontinence (FI), or involuntary loss of bowel control, significantly impacts quality of life and mental health for millions of adults in the U.S.

22 Apr 2024

Empowering patients: Key concepts for managing pelvic pain

A new study from the University of South Australia is putting people's experiences of pelvic pain at the front of pain education to develop better pain management strategies and improved outcomes.

18 Apr 2024

App-based therapy offers significant improvement for men with bladder emptying disorders

Combining pelvic floor exercises with behavioral therapy could be more effective than current medical treatments at helping men with frequent urges to urinate, new research in men has found.

8 Apr 2024

Understanding giggle incontinence: Causes, symptoms, and management

Giggle incontinence, a unique form of laughter-induced urinary incontinence, primarily affects children without other urological disorders, with treatment options including urotherapy, biofeedback, and methylphenidate.

27 Feb 2024

Prolonged TV and video viewing linked to higher risk of nocturia

In a study published in Neurourology and Urodynamics, adults who spent 5 or more hours a day watching TV and/or videos were more likely to develop nocturia, or the need to urinate multiple times during the night.

21 Feb 2024

Urinary incontinence associated with higher odds of future disability

If you are one of the 30% to 50% of women experiencing urinary incontinence, new research suggests that it could turn into a bigger health issue.

12 Jan 2024

Study shows rhesus macaques as an ideal animal model for studying pelvic organ prolapse

This study is led by Prof. Lan Zhu (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital), Prof. Tao Tan (State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming University of Science and Technology), and Prof. Weizhi Ji (State Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research, Kunming University of Science and Technology).

10 Nov 2023

Analysis finds high rates of severe maternal trauma during forceps, vacuum births in Canada

A McMaster University-led analysis published in the BMJ on Oct. 19, exposes high rates of injuries with forceps and vacuum delivery in Canada that have been documented for over a decade without efforts to address them.

19 Oct 2023

UC San Diego team reports new insights on pelvic floor muscle dysfunction

University of California San Diego researchers are leading a team reporting new insights in Science Translational Medicine on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction, which is one of the key risk factors for pelvic floor disorders which impact close to a quarter of women in the U.S.

2 Aug 2023

Obesity management: a women's health approach

Researchers provide a women's health perspective on obesity.

1 May 2023

Study focuses on the impact of obstetric injuries on women’s lives two decades later

Bowel leakage, the need for anal incontinence protection and a restricted social life may cause severe, decades-long suffering among women with obstetric injuries to the anal opening, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg.

23 Feb 2023