Abstract: ObjectiveTo investigate the short-term effect of biofeedback combined with pelvic floor muscle training(PFM) on female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and significance of the surface EMG activity of PFM.MethodsAccording to clinical symptoms, 69 women with SUI were divided into three groups: mild(n=26), moderate(n=24) and severe(n=19) groups. Biofeedback combined with PFM was performed on all patients for 12 weeks. Urinary diary, the score of International Continence Inquiring Committee's Questionnaire (ICI-Q-SF) and the surface EMG activity of PFM were recorded before and after treatment.ResultsIn all groups, the times of voiding (TOV), leakage times(LT) and the scores of ICI-Q-SF were significantly lower after treatment than those before treatment, the vigor of the surface EMG activity of the pelvic floor muscles was significantly higher than that before treatment (P<0.05). The difference value of TOV, LT, the scores of ICI-Q-SF, vigor, the peak value and energy and the efficiency in the mild group were significantly higher than those in other groups after treatment.ConclusionBiofeedback combined with PFM is a simple, effective treatment for SUI, especially for the mild ones; the surface EMG activity of PFM is important for curative effect assessment.

Key words: stress urinary incontinence, biofeedback, pelvic floor muscle training, surface EMG