Investigation of the effectiveness of magnetic field therapy in women with urinary incontinence: Literature review

Abstract

Objective: Magnetic stimulation (MS) provides a novel strategy for the treatment of urinary incontinence (UI), although its efficacy remains uncertain. This systematic review both evaluated the effects of MS treatment on UI and investigated its impacts on female patients’ life quality. Methods: A review of the literature that was conducted in EMBASE, PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Library (2016–2021) with the search terms; Incontinence of stress OR urge of urination OR Urinary incontinence mixed type. The search was carried out for all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in English. A manual search has also been conducted for the reference lists of the studies found. Seven studies, with a total of 523 patients (475 patients with SUI), 12 urge urinary incontinence. The study included patients with (UUI) and 36 patients with mixed urinary incontinence (MUI). A total of 10 male patients were excluded from the study. In the included studies, The International Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form was used to investigate the effects of MS therapy on UI symptoms (ICIQ-SF). Results: According to the literature review, MS is an effective therapy option for female patients with UI. Still, to establish the efficacy of MS in this area, more large-scale, high-quality RCTs with extended follow-up periods that use consistent stimulation modalities and evaluate comparable outcomes are needed. Conclusion: MS treatment leads to an improvement in the symptoms of UI, in addition to an associated Improved quality of life for patients, without any reported side effects, while the longer-term treatment outcomes must be determined by long-term trials.

Evaluation of Possible Side Effects in the Treatment of Urinary Incontinence with Magnetic Stimulation

“…The score of the ICIQ-UI-SF questionnaire decreased by 91% from the baseline, and the score of the ICIQ-OAB and IIQ-7 questionnaires decreased by 86% and 98%, respectively [ 29 ]. Gözlersüzer et al concluded in their SR that MS treatment leads to an improvement in the symptoms of UI, in addition to associated improved quality of life for patients, without any reported side effects [ 30 ]. A meta-analysis by Peng et al, which looked at four randomized controlled trials involving a total 232 patients, showed a statistically significant improvement in symptoms in patients with SUI after MS therapy, without any detected side effects.…”

The Process of Diagnosis and Treatment of Female Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and the Clinical Application of Physical Therapy

“…A systematic review published in 2023 reviewed studies on the efficacy of magnetic stimulation for urinary incontinence up to 2021.The systematic review included a total of seven studies with urinary incontinence types including stress incontinence, urge incontinence and mixed incontinence, and the results suggest that magnetic stimulation is an effective treatment option for women with urinary incontinence. However, more large-scale, high-quality RCTs with extended follow-up periods are needed to determine the therapeutic efficacy of magnetic stimulation [134]. The therapeutic efficacy of magnetic stimulation has been validated to some extent, but there is heterogeneity in the treatment regimen, and effective treatment parameters need to be clarified, which is the direction of subsequent research.…”