Meta-analysis of the therapeutic effect of electrical stimulation combined with pelvic floor muscle exercise on female pelvic floor dysfunction.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To systematically evaluate the therapeutic effect of electrical stimulation combined with pelvic floor muscle exercise on female pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). METHODS: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was applied. A computer-based retrieval was performed in the databases of PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library from database establishment to September 15, 2023, to identify randomized controlled trials on electrical stimulation combined with pelvic floor muscle function exercise on female PFD. Literature screening, data extraction, and quality evaluation were performed independently by two researchers, and meta-analysis was performed using the statistical software Stata15.0. RESULTS: 1. In total, 12 randomized controlled trials were included, involving 721 female patients. The overall quality of methodologies employed in the included studies was relatively high. 2. Meta-analysis results showed that electrical stimulation combined with pelvic floor muscle exercise could effectively mitigate the severity of female PFD (SMD = -1.01, 95% CI - 1.78, - 0.25, P < 0.05). 3. This combination treatment demonstrated a significant positive effect on the improvement of pelvic floor muscle strength in female patients (P < 0.05); however, it had no significant effect on the improvement in quality of life (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with pelvic floor muscle exercise alone, electrical stimulation combined with pelvic floor muscle exercise could effectively mitigate the severity of female PFD. It had a notable positive impact on enhancing pelvic floor muscle strength in female patients, although it did not significantly improve quality of life. Future high-quality studies are warranted.