{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T17:12:00Z","timestamp":1787591520229,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768780800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a prevalent health condition with a negative impact on quality of life (QoL). Exercise therapy (ET), specifically, pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), is recommended as a first-line conservative treatment for UI during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. This study evaluated the effects of ET on the management of postpartum UI. Methods: A systematic search was conducted to identify clinical trials and randomized controlled trials including women over 18 years with postpartum UI. All included studies used ET as the main intervention. Studies were excluded if UI symptoms were attributable to factors outside the urinary tract or if participants had concomitant pathologies. Results: From 298 records screened, four trials were included. Three trials reported statistically significant improvements in UI outcomes, while findings for pelvic floor function and QoL showed greater heterogeneity. One trial found that supervised PFMT was associated with greater improvements in urinary symptoms (BFLUTS), vaginal pressure (18.96 mmHg (SD: 9.08)), and endurance (11.32 s (SD: 3.17)) compared to unsupervised training. Another trial using electromyographic biofeedback with electrical stimulation reported a continence rate exceeding 70% on the 20 min pad test, with improvements in perceived burden (VAS), symptoms (UDI), and QoL (IIQ). A third trial combining PFMT with infrared physiotherapy showed improvements in pelvic floor function (PFIQ-7, PFDI-20), urodynamic parameters, urine loss, and QoL (GQOLI-74). In the remaining trial, within-group improvements were observed, with no statistically significant between-group differences. Conclusions: ET appears to be beneficial for postpartum UI, with a moderate certainty of evidence. While the greatest benefits are observed with supervised PFMT, the diversity of comparators, and the risk of performance bias limit definitive conclusions regarding its superiority. Given the short-term follow-up, it remains unclear whether the results are influenced by the spontaneous recovery trajectory in the postpartum period and if these effects are sustained in the long term.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15020810","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]],"date-time":"2026-01-20T09:24:34Z","timestamp":1768901074000},"page":"810","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Effectiveness of Exercise Therapy for Postpartum Urinary Incontinence\u2014Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-0905-0825","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maitane","family":"Cuesta-Paredes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08195 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Fisiosan Clinics, 48980 Santurtzi, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0531-133X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"No\u00e9","family":"Labata-Lezaun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Vitoria-Gasteiz (EUNEIZ), La Biosfera Ibilbidea, 6, 01013 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain"},{"name":"Actium Functional Anatomy Research Group, 08195 Sant Cugat del Vall\u00e8s, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2527-3075","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Orts-Ruiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Therapy Department, Health Sciences Faculty, CEU-Cardenal Herrara University, 03202 Elche, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9524-4248","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"L\u00f3pez-de-Celis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, 08195 Barcelona, Spain"},{"name":"Actium Functional Anatomy Research Group, 08195 Sant Cugat del Vall\u00e8s, Spain"},{"name":"Study Group on Pathology of the Locomotor System in Primary Care (GEPALAP), Institu Universitari d\u2019Investigaci\u00f3 en Atenci\u00f3 Prim\u00e0ria (IDIAP Jordi Gol), 08007 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5161-7479","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Est\u00e9banez-de-Miguel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiatry and Nursing, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1002\/nau.22922","article-title":"An International Urogynecological Association (IUGA)\/International Continence Society (ICS) Joint Report on the Terminology for Female Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)","volume":"35","author":"Haylen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Neurourol. 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