Very limited research has been done on technique’s use for pelvic floor dysfunction treatment
TUESDAY, Oct. 17, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Despite interest in the method, there is no scientific evidence to support the abdominal hypopressive technique (AHT) for treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction, according to a discussion published online Oct. 16 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Saúl Martín-Rodríguez, from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain, and Kari Bø, from the Norwegian School of Sport Science in Oslo, conducted a literature search and identified two published studies (one experimental study and one randomized controlled trial [RCT]) on the AHT and pelvic floor dysfunctions.
The authors found that the experimental study did not find any acute effect of adding the AHT to pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on PFM maximal voluntary contraction, endurance, or muscle activation. Similarly, the RCT found no additional effect on cross-sectional area or PFM strength when AHT was added to PFMT.
“There is undoubtedly a worldwide huge interest of the public and the clinical community on AHT. However, to date, the AHT lacks scientific evidence to support its benefits,” the authors write. “At this stage, the AHT is based on a theory with 20 years of clinical practice.”
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