Journal of Physiotherapy Practice · Mar 2, 2026

Effect of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on Stress Urinary Incontinence in Post Menopausal Women Using Perineometer

By Abitha K, Kavitha N, Madhavi K et al.

Background: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) frequently affects postmenopausal women due to pelvic floor muscle weakeningcompounded by estrogen decline, resulting in involuntary urine leakage triggered by everyday activities that elevate intraabdominalpressure—profoundly diminishing daily confidence and well-being. While pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) stands as the recommended frontline conservative therapy, robust evidence from standardized tools remains sparse. This study aimed to quantify PFMT's impact on pelvic floor strength and leakage volume in postmenopausal SUI patients using perineometer and pad test metrics.Methods: This pre-post experimental investigation, conducted at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) in Tirupati, enrolled 18 postmenopausal women aged 45-60 years with diagnosed stress urinary incontinence through convenience sampling. Participants completed a supervised 12-week pelvic floor muscle training regimen, with pelvic floor strength quantified via perineometer (cmH₂O) and urinary leakage via standardized pad test (grams) at baseline and endpoint. Statistical analysis utilized SPSS version 23.0, applying Shapiro-Wilk normality tests followed by paired t-tests to evaluate intervention effects (α = 0.05).Results: The 12-week PFMT intervention yielded significant pelvic floor muscle strength gains (perineometer: 11.57±6.22 to 21.33±7.94 cmH₂O, p<0.0001) and reduced urinary leakage (pad test: 27.45±4.42 to 20.67±3.55 g, p<0.0001) in 18 postmenopausal women, with data normality confirmed via Shapiro-Wilk testing.Conclusion: Pelvic floor muscle training protocol significantly enhanced strength in postmenopausal women, establishing it as an effective, non-invasive first-line therapy for stress urinary incontinence. These findings support the inclusion of PFMT in routine physiotherapy and urogynecological rehabilitation programs.

doi.org/10.15621/jphysio/2026/v2i1/31 Open access Interventions