Effects of virtual reality exposure therapy in muscle function in women with urinary incontinence: case series

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Urinary incontinence is one of the most embarrassing and stressful urinary symptoms and the main pelvic floor dysfunction. The treatment through virtual reality aims to increase the adherence of patients to treatment in a playful, non-invasive, promoting PFM contraction capacity during physical activities, with potential impacts on the improvement of this incontinence. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the muscle function and loss of urine of the pelvic floor of women incontinent treated with a specific protocol of virtual reality exposure therapy. METHODS: Case report, composed of 02 cases of women with medical diagnosis of UI. Handled with virtual reality through Nintendo Wii Fit Plus ™ games for 12 50-minute sessions each, three times a week. Each session consisted of twenty minutes of educational time, with orientation of the actions during the games and previous training for the contraction of the transverse abdomen and pelvic floor muscles, followed by thirty minutes of intervention with the game. The protocol was divided into two phases of six sessions each according to the difficulty of the games, initially prioritizing those who explored movements of the pelvis in the frontal plane (Lotus FocusTM, Penguin SlideTM and Soccer HeadingTM) and, with evolution, those that allowed global movements (Penguin SlideTM, Table TiltTM and Balance BubbleTM). The pelvic floor muscle function and urinary loss were evaluated, respectively, through the PERFECT scheme and the pad test one hour and the results were descriptive summarized in Excel tables. RESULTS: Improved urinary loss through the pad test one hour and improve muscle function by digital palpation associated with the PERFECT scheme of the participants with urinary incontinence after intervention. CONCLUSION: The treatment of PFM through virtual reality proved to be effective in improving urinary loss and PF muscle function in this study, but clinical trials are required to prove their efficacy.