Health education and pelvic floor muscle training improve women's pelvic complaints, level of knowledge and quality of life: a cross-sectional study

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.159592530015

• Palavras-chave: Health Education, Pelvic Floor Disorders, Pelvic Floor Muscle Training, Quality of Life.

• Keywords: Health Education, Pelvic Floor Disorders, Pelvic Floor Muscle Training, Quality of Life.

• Abstract:

  Pelvic Floor Dysfunctions (PFD) have a high prevalence and generate various health impacts. Around 81% of women have never even received information about this area and 79% do not know its functions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a health promotion program that included Health Education and Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT), considering the presence of complaints related to PF, the level of knowledge about the Pelvic Floor Muscle (PFM), and quality of life. This is a cross-sectional study, with pre-post intervention measurements, including 35 female civil servants from a public university, aged between 20 and 60. All the participants underwent a physiotherapeutic assessment of the PF, as well as answering a questionnaire on knowledge of the Pelvic Floor Muscle (PFM) and the WHOQOL-bref, before and after the physiotherapeutic intervention. The intervention consisted of 4 face-to-face meetings, lasting 60 minutes, held in groups of 5 to 8 participants, during which health education and PFMT took place. At the assessment, 80% of the participants had complaints related to PA, reducing to 51.4% at the reassessment. With the intervention, there was a significant improvement in knowledge about the PF muscles in all the aspects assessed, as well as an increase in quality of life. The research showed that a 4-week physiotherapy intervention program, including health education and TMAP, is capable of providing short-term benefits for health promotion and improving complaints related to the PA in adult women.