Home Biofeedback or Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Postpartum Urinary Incontinence.

June 16, 2025 updated by: Jessica Sassani, Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute)

Home Biofeedback or Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy for Postpartum Urinary Incontinence.: A Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial

Pelvic floor dysfunction is commonly seen in the postpartum women with symptoms including urinary urgency and frequency, urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence. Pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) and home biofeedback devices have been shown to improve pelvic floor symptoms in postpartum and non-postpartum populations, respectively. This randomized noninferiority clinical trial will assess urinary incontinence-related quality of life in postpartum women with self-reported urinary incontinence who are randomized to a program of home biofeedback or pelvic floor physical therapy.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The objective of this proposal is to determine if home biofeedback devices are noninferior to pelvic floor physical therapy for the treatment of postpartum urinary incontinence through a randomized noninferiority clinical trial. The hypothesis is that both interventions will improve incontinence-related quality of life and that home biofeedback will be noninferior to PFPT. Two specific aims will be investigated: 1) Determine the impact of both interventions on urinary incontinence-related quality of life measured by the change in score at 3-months on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF); 2) Determine patient impression of symptoms improvement (measured by the change in score at 3-months and 1-year on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement scale or PGI-I), overall pelvic floor symptoms (measured by the change in score at 3-months and 1-year on the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory of PFDI) and changes in sexual function (measured by a change in score at 3-months and 1-year in the Female Sexual Function Index or FSFI). An additional exploratory aim will be to observe the change in pelvic floor symptoms in the postpartum period at 3-months and 1-year among a cohort of women who elect for the standard of care without PFPT or biofeedback.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
3

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Monroeville, Pennsylvania, United States, 15146
        • AHN Forbes Hospital
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15224
        • West Penn Hospital
      • Wexford, Pennsylvania, United States, 15090
        • AHN Wexford Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • following a vaginal delivery (primiparous or multiparous, spontaneous, forceps, or vacuum assisted)
  • willingness to participate in PFPT or home biofeedback exercises
  • access to a smartphone with Bluetooth capabilities
  • positive screen for urinary incontinence between 4 and 8 weeks postpartum defined as patient report of any urinary leakage within the prior two weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

  • multiple births or deliver at ≤34 weeks
  • previous urinary incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse surgery
  • self-identified pre-pregnancy pelvic floor disorder such as urinary incontinence
  • fecal incontinence or chronic pelvic pain or if they have a history of prior PFPT

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy (PFPT)
6 sessions of PFPT over a 12 week period with planned home exercises as per physical therapist's recommendation.
Other: Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy
This intervention will assess urinary incontinence-related quality of life in postpartum women with self-reported urinary incontinence who are randomized to a program of PFPT.
Active Comparator: Biofeedback device
Pericoach® by Analytica is a vaginal device with recommendation for daily use during the 12 week period.
Device: Pericoach® by Analytica
This intervention will assess urinary incontinence-related quality of life in postpartum women with self-reported urinary incontinence who are randomized to a program of home biofeedback .

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the impact of both interventions on urinary incontinence-related quality of life using validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 3 months
Measured by the change in score on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF) between baseline and 3 months; scored between 0 and 21 with higher score meaning larger symptom burden
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the impact of both interventions on urinary incontinence-related quality of life using validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 12 months
Measured by the change in score on the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF) between baseline and 12 months; scored between 0 and 21 with higher score meaning larger symptom burden
12 months
Determine overall pelvic floor symptoms measured by validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 3 months
Measured by change in score on the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFD-I) between baseline and 3 months; scored between 0 and 300 with higher score indicating greater symptom burden
3 months
Determine overall pelvic floor symptoms measured by validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 12 months
Measured by change in score on the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFD-I) between baseline and 12 months; scored between 0 and 300 with higher score indicating greater symptom burden
12 months
Determine changes in sexual function following intervention measured by validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 3 months
Measured by change in score on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) between baseline and 3 months; scored between 2 and 36 with a lower score indicating more sexual dysfunction
3 months
Determine changes in sexual function following intervention measured by validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 12 months
Measured by change in score on the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) between baseline and 12 months; scored between 2 and 36 with a lower score indicating more sexual dysfunction
12 months
Determine the patient impression of symptom improvement using validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 3 months
Measured by the change in score on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) between baseline and 3 months; scored between 1 and 7 with higher scoring meaning worsening symptoms
3 months
Determine the patient impression of symptom improvement using validated questionnaire
Time Frame: 12 months
Measured by the change in score on the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) between baseline and 12 months; scored between 1 and 7 with higher scoring meaning worsening symptoms
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute)

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Johns Hopkins University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jessica Sassani, MD, Allegheny Health Network

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
May 8, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
May 8, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 19, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 13, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 18, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 19, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 16, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • POUT/IRB00297309

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Results will be published; patient identifiers will not be used in the research publications.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings