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This systematic review, complemented by a meta-analysis, highlights the beneficial impact of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on various dimensions of the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).
The following is a summary of “Pelvic Floor Muscle Training as Treatment for female sexual dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis,” published in the January 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynaecology by Jorge et al.
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) in addressing female sexual dysfunction.
Two independent reviewers conducted data extraction and analysis. The study interventions’ characteristics were derived using the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT). The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale assessed the risk of bias, while the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) criteria evaluated the certainty of evidence. A meta-analysis analyzed the post-treatment mean score differences in the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) between control and treatment groups.
The review incorporated 21 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs). Assessment using CERT highlighted varying PFMT protocol qualities. The meta-analysis included four studies, demonstrating that PFMT notably enhanced arousal (1.49; 95% CI: 0.13 to 2.85), orgasm (1.55; 95% CI: 0.13 to 2.96), satisfaction (1.46; 95% CI: 0.14 to 2.77), pain (0.74; 95% CI: 0.11 to 1.37), and the overall FSFI score (7.67; 95% CI: 0.77 to 14.57). However, the GRADE assessment indicated a very low certainty of evidence due to high clinical and statistical heterogeneity. No adverse effects resulting from the interventions were reported.
This systematic review, complemented by a meta-analysis, highlighted the beneficial impact of PFMT on various dimensions of the female FSFI. Nevertheless, the certainty of the evidence needs to be higher, primarily due to considerable heterogeneity in data.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002937824000061