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Efficacy of transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation in women with an idiopathic overactive bladder
Ekin İlke Şen1, Nalan Çapan1, Gülşah Gula2, Funda Güngör Uğurlucan3, Cenk Yasa3, Sina Esmaeilzadeh Arman1, Ayşe Karan11Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey2Health Sciences University, Sureyyapasa Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Istanbul, Turkey
3Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Istanbul, Turkey
INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) in women with urge incontinence.
METHODS: The study included 20 patients with an idiopathic overactive bladder refractory to anticholinergic treatment. TTNS was applied to all patients on three days per week for eight weeks; each session lasted 30 minutes. Pelvic floor muscle strength, urinary frequency and the number of episodes of urge urinary incontinence were recorded before and after the treatment.
RESULTS: After 8 weeks of TTNS treatment, a statistically significant increase was found in pelvic floor muscle strength, assessed by digital palpation (p=0.008), whereas there was no significant improvement in perineometry values (p=0.118). Bladder diary assessment revealed that patients experienced a significant reduction in the average number of incontinence episodes and voiding frequency (p=0.003 and p=0.001, respectively). There were no adverse effects during the treatment.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study results showed that TTNS is an effective and well-tolerated treatment in women with an idiopathic overactive bladder who have not benefited from anticholinergic medications. Further studies need to be performed to determine a standardized treatment protocol and long-term efficacy.
Manuscript Language: English
