Urinary incontinence is a common condition affecting many women, and existing clinical treatments may have certain limitations. As a result, there is growing interest in complementary strategies for managing urinary incontinence. One such strategy is yoga, which has been recommended as a behavioural self-management approach.
A study conducted by Huang et al (2019) assessed the feasibility and tolerability of a group-based therapeutic yoga programme for ambulatory middle-aged and older women with urinary incontinence. The study concluded that the yoga programme was feasible and well tolerated by the participants. This suggests that yoga can be easily integrated into the management of urinary incontinence and is acceptable to women seeking alternative approaches.
Moreover, several studies have investigated the effectiveness of yoga in improving urinary incontinence. A pre-post study combining pelvic floor muscle training with Hatha yoga in women with stress incontinence reported a significant improvement in incontinence symptoms. In addition, a randomised trial of Iyengar yoga for urinary incontinence showed promising results for both stress and urge incontinence. These findings suggest that yoga may have a beneficial effect in reducing incontinence episodes and improving symptoms.
Based on the available research, yoga appears to be a feasible, well-tolerated and potentially effective complementary approach to the management of urinary incontinence. It can be easily incorporated into the management plan and may provide benefits by reducing incontinence episodes and improving symptoms. However, more research is needed to establish the long-term effectiveness and optimal protocols for yoga interventions.
Jose Antonio Moral Muñoz
References:
- Huang, A., Chesney, M., Lisha, N., Vittinghoff, E., Schembri, M., Pawlowsky, S., … y Subak, L. (2019). Un programa de yoga grupal para la incontinencia urinaria en mujeres ambulatorias: viabilidad, tolerabilidad y cambio en la frecuencia de la incontinencia durante 3 meses en un ensayo aleatorizado de un solo centro. Revista Americana de Obstetricia y Ginecología, 1(220), 87.e1-87.e13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2018.10.031
- Wieland, L., Shrestha, N., Lassi, Z., Panda, S., Chiaramonte, D., Skoetz, N. (2019). Yoga para el tratamiento de la incontinencia urinaria en mujeres. Base de Datos Cochrane de Revisiones Sistemáticas, 2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012668.pub2
