The Effect of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization Exercises on Urine Control and Quality of Life in Elderly Women

Urinary incontinence is one of the most common problems in agingthat negativelyaffects the quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the effect of “Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization” (DNS) exercises on urine control and quality of life in elderly women with urinary incontinence.

This study was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test designwith the control group. The 24agedfemales, 60years and over with urinary incontinence, were selected as statistical samples based on inclusion criteria and were randomly divided into treatment group (N= 12) and control group (N= 12). Before and after 6 weeks of training which were performed for 45minutes and 6 sessions per week, the quality of life of the subjects was assessed by the IncontinenceQualityof Life Questionnaire (I-QOL) and the severity of urinary incontinence was assessed by International Consultation on IncontinenceQuestionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) using repeated measures analysis of variance.

The results showed that urinary incontinence and quality of life in the treatmentgroupsignificantlyimproved in the post-test compared to the pre-test (P <0.05). Also, there was a significant difference in all variablesbetween the treatment and controlgroups in the post-test (P <0.05).

Accordingto the results, by doingDNS exercises for 6 weeks, urinary incontinence and subsequentlythe quality of life of elderly women with urinary incontinence will improve. Therefore, these exercises are recommended to elderly women as a safe and secure intervention.