The Use of Disposable Tampons as Visual Biofeedback in Pelvic Floor Muscle Training.

Background: Urinary incontinence represents a complex problem which commonly affects women and influences their physical, mental and social wellbeing. The objective was to determine the effect of pelvic floor muscle training using a tampon as visual biofeedback. Methods: A non-randomized clinical trial involving 60 women >18 years of age, both with, and without, urinary incontinence. All women exercised with a program involving visual biofeedback using disposable tampons at home for three months. The compliance rate was 76.8 ± 24.1 An electromyographic assessment of the pelvic floor was performed and assessments of the impact of the exercise program. Results: 54.5% of women without incontinence and 81.6% of women incontinence reported improvements (p = 0.041). In both groups, there was increased quality life (p > 0.05). The women without incontinence experienced greater improvement in the quality of their sexual relations (Pre 6.8 ± 1.4-Post 7.2 ± 1.0). Conclusions: After the intervention, a high percentage of women showed a statistically significant improvement in their symptoms. The participants reported an increase in quality of life and the women without incontinence reported an improvement in quality of their sexual relations. Our findings suggest that visual BFB for training the PFM may be beneficial for women with or without incontinence.

Does Jacobson's relaxation technique reduce consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs in cancer patients? A multicenter pre-post intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients often suffer from emotional distress as a result of the oncological process. The purpose of our study was to determine whether practice of Jacobson's relaxation technique reduced consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs in a sample of cancer patients. METHODS: This was a multicenter pre-post intervention design. Participants were 272 patients aged over 18 years attending 10 Spanish public hospitals with oncological pathologies and anxiety symptoms. The intervention consisted of a protocol of abbreviated progressive muscle relaxation training developed by Bernstein and Borkovec. This was followed up by telephone calls over a 1-month period. The intervention was performed between November 2014 and October 2015. Sociodemographic variables related to the oncological process, mental health variables, and intervention characteristics were measured. RESULTS: A reduction in the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs was observed throughout the follow-up period. Improvement was observed throughout the 4-week follow-up for all the parameters assessed: anxiety, relaxation, concentration, and mastery of the relaxation technique. CONCLUSIONS: The practice of abbreviated Jacobson's relaxation technique can help to decrease the consumption of psychotropic and analgesic drugs. Patients experienced positive changes in all the evaluated parameters, at least during the 1-month follow-up. To confirm these findings, additional long-term studies are needed that include control groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 81335752 , DOI 10.1186/ISRCTN81335752 17. Date of registration: 22/11/2016 (retrospectively registered).