Combined Effects of Pelvic Floor Retraining and Hypopressive Exercises in Uterine Prolapse Outcomes

June 8, 2026 updated by: Riphah International University

Combined Effects of Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining and Hypopressive Exercises on Pain, Urogynecological Symptoms, and Quality of Life in Uterine Prolapse

One common pelvic floor condition, particularly in postpartum or later life, is uterine prolapse. It is caused by weak pelvic floor muscles and connective tissues and often presents with pain, urinary incontinence, and reduced quality of life. Although pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is commonly used, newer methods such as Hypopressive Exercises (HE) and Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining (PFFMR) offer promising approaches. HE focuses on posture and breathing strategies to reduce intra-abdominal pressure, while PFFMR retrains pelvic stability and function through integrated movement patterns. This study aims to evaluate the combined effects of HE and PFFMR on pain, urogynecological symptoms, and quality of life in women with uterine prolapse, compared to single interventions.

This randomized clinical trial will include 32 women aged 30-60 years with stage I-II uterine prolapse at Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore. Participants will undergo an 8-week program with supervised sessions three times per week. Outcomes will be assessed using the Pelvic Floor Bother Questionnaire (PFBQ), Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), and Prolapse Quality of Life Questionnaire (P-QoL), and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

One common pelvic floor condition, particularly in postpartum or later life, is uterine prolapse. It is caused by weak pelvic floor muscles and connective tissues, and it frequently manifests as pain, urine incontinence and a reduced quality of life. Although traditional pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is still commonly utilized, newer methods like Hypopressive Exercises (HE) and Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining (PFFMR) offer promising, supplementary approaches. Whereas Hypopressive Exercises HE stresses posture and breathing strategies that lower intra-abdominal pressure and enhance pelvic organ support, Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining (PFFMR) concentrates on retraining pelvic stability and function through integrated movement patterns. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the combined effects of Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining and Hypopressive Exercises on pain, urogynecological symptoms and quality of life in women with uterine prolapse. This study seeks to determine whether the combination provides superior outcomes compared to single interventions. This randomized clinical trial study will include 32 female participants age 30 to 60 years, diagnosed with stage I and II uterine prolapse, selected through Non-probability Convenience sampling. The setting of the study will be Ganga ram hospital Lahore. Participants will undergo 8 weeks intervention program combining Hypopressive Exercises (HE) and Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining (PFFMR), with sessions conducted three times per week under physiotherapist supervision. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and post-intervention using standardized tools: The Pelvic floor bother questionnaire (PFBQ) for urogynecological symptoms, the Numeric pain rating Scale (NPRS) for pain, and the Prolapse Quality of Life Questionnaire (P-QoL) for quality of life. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 to determine statistically significant changes pre- and post-intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

32

Phase

  • 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 Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Females aged 30-60 years.
  • Diagnosed with stage I and II uterine prolapse.
  • women with ≥1 parity
  • women who have had a vaginal delivery

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Recent pelvic surgery (<6 months).
  • Pregnancy or postpartum within 6 months.
  • Neurological conditions affecting muscle control.
  • Participation in pelvic floor rehab in the past 6 months.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group A: Functional Movement Retraining with Hypopressive Exercise
Participants in Group A will receive a combined intervention of pelvic floor functional movement retraining (PF-FMR) and hypopressive exercises. PF-FMR will focus on posture correction, diaphragmatic breathing, and integrating pelvic floor contractions into functional movements such as squats, bridges, and walking to improve muscle activation, alignment, and core stability. Hypopressive exercises will aim to reduce intra-abdominal pressure and activate deep core and pelvic floor muscles through apnea-based breathing in different positions, contributing to improved pelvic floor tone and symptom relief in women with pelvic organ prolapse.
Other: Functional Movement Retraining + Hypopressive Exercises
Participants in Group A will receive a combined intervention consisting of pelvic floor functional movement retraining (PF-FMR) and hypopressive exercises (HE). The intervention will be delivered in supervised sessions three times per week for 8 weeks, each lasting 30-45 minutes. The PF-FMR component will include posture correction, diaphragmatic breathing, and integration of pelvic floor muscle contractions into functional movements such as squats, bridges, and walking. These exercises aim to improve voluntary muscle activation, spinal-pelvic alignment, and core stability,(34) and significant improvements in pelvic floor dysfunction with functionally integrated physiotherapy. In addition, hypopressive exercises will be included to reduce intra-abdominal pressure and stimulate involuntary activation of pelvic floor and deep core muscles through apnea-based breathing techniques. Participants will perform HE in various postures (supine, seated, and standing).
Active Comparator: Group B: Functional Movement Retraining
Group B will receive pelvic floor functional movement retraining (PF-FMR) alone for the same duration and frequency as Group A. The program will focus on pelvic floor muscle training integrated into functional movements such as bridges, squats, postural correction, and diaphragmatic breathing with pelvic floor contraction to improve core-pelvic coordination, muscle control, alignment, and endurance, aiming to reduce pelvic organ prolapse symptoms and improve quality of life. Participants will also follow a home exercise program and maintain adherence logs to track progress.
Other: Pelvic Floor Functional Movement Retraining
Group B will receive pelvic floor functional movement retraining (PF-FMR) alone, following the same frequency and duration as Group A. This group will focus on active pelvic floor muscle training embedded within dynamic postures and everyday functional tasks. Exercises will include bridges, squats, postural corrections, and diaphragmatic breathing combined with pelvic floor contraction to facilitate core-pelvic coordination. The objective is to retrain muscle control, improve pelvic alignment, and enhance pelvic floor endurance and PFMT to be effective in reducing symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse and improving quality of life. Like Group A, participants in Group B will also be instructed to follow a home program of prescribed exercises, with progress tracked through self-maintained adherence logs.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
For people with musculoskeletal illnesses, the NPRS is a valid, internally consistent, and generalizable indicator of clinical and experimental pain severity. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 represents "the worst pain imaginable" and 0 represents "no pain at all," participants scored their present level of discomfort. Participants also evaluated their lowest degree of discomfort and worst pain during the previous week in order to gauge the variability and intensity of pain. For statistical analysis, the average of all pain assessments was used. The NPRS is regarded as a valid and acceptable pain intensity scale. High test-retest reliability (r=0.96 and 0.95) has been demonstrated by NPRS.
8 weeks
Pelvic floor bother questionnaire (PFBQ)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Based on clinical interviews and a review of popular surveys like the Urinary Distress Inventory, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory (PFDI), and Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire (PFIQ), the Cleveland Clinic pelvic floor staff created the validated PFBQ. USI, urgency, frequency, UUI, POP, dysuria, dyspareunia, defecatory dysfunction, fecal incontinence, and the respondent's handicap are all assessed by the PFBQ. The questionnaire has nine elements, each with a score ranging from 0 to 5. The total score ranges from 0 to 45 points, where 0 denotes no discomfort and 45 denotes a higher level of disability. To get a value between 0 and 100, the questionnaire's total score is multiplied by 20.(30) PFBQ is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the symptoms of bother and severity in women with pelvic floor dysfunction. The test-retest reliability of the PFBQ is excellent (0.998, p < 0.0001)
8 weeks
Prolapse Quality of Life Questionnaire (P-QoL)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
General health (1 item), prolapse impact (1 item), role limitations (2 items), physical limitations (2 items), social limitations (3 items), personal relationships (2 items), emotions (3 items), sleep/energy (2 items), and severity measures (4 items) are the nine quality of life domains that are represented by the 20 self-reported questions that make up the P-QoL questionnaire. Each domain has a score between 0 and 100. Lower ratings signify a good quality of life, whereas higher values imply a larger degradation of quality of life. P-QoL IS a valid tool with test-retest reliability high in all cases, with values from 0.725 to 0.938. All the values were statistically significant (p < 0.001)
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Riphah International University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Zunaira Bilal, Riphah International University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

April 2, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 2, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REC/RCR & AHS/25/0523

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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.

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