Women's experiences of doing long-term pelvic floor muscle exercises for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

This study investigated women's experiences of doing prescribed pelvic floor muscle exercise (PFME) after participation in the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Physiotherapy (POPPY) trial. The aim was to understand post-supervised treatment adherence to PFME and to inform future advice for women being treated for pelvic organ prolapse (POP).

METHODS

Five women were purposively selected from the New Zealand branch of the multi-centre, multi-national POPPY trial and took part in a semi-structured interviews about their experiences of PFME. The interviews were subjected to an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

RESULTS

Three core themes were identified in the analysis. The first theme, "Patterns of PFME behaviour", described exercise characteristics and behaviours. The second theme, "Influences on PFME maintenance cycles", captured the participants' responses to and evaluations of their exercise practice and related PFME self-efficacy. The "cycle" referred to the changing influences on exercise behaviour. The third theme, "Family as priority", was expressed in terms of either putting family first or successfully combining the priorities of family and self.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the importance of family in influencing PFME patterns and behaviours in the treatment of POP. It is possible that identifying strategies to help women reach their PFME goals within the context of their families will promote more successful PFME adherence. The importance of family when prescribing exercise for women with other chronic health conditions is also worth exploring.