Effects of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training Combined with Estriol on Pelvic Floor Dysfunction after Total Hysterectomy Applied in Perimenopause

Abstract

Objective. Total hysterectomy (TH) is becoming more and more common in clinical practice, and many patients suffer from postoperative complications such as pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD). How to prevent and treat PFD is an important part of the current clinical work, and it is important to improve patients’ postoperative quality of life. This study was to investigate the effect of pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) combined with estriol on PFD after TH in perimenopause. Methods. Totally, 95 patients who developed PFD receiving TH in our hospital between January 2020 and June 2021 were selected. They were randomly divided into a PFMT+ET (estriol therapy) group ( $n=49$ ) and CT group (conventional treatment, $n=46$ ). After treatment, the two groups were compared in terms of pelvic floor muscle tension (systolic pressure and resting pressure of the vagina), female sexual function index (pain, satisfaction, orgasm, sexual arousal, sexual desire, and lubrication), and the degree of PFD (persistent time of vaginal muscle contraction, 1-hour pad test, residual urine volume, and frequency of urinary incontinence). Results. After 4 months of treatment, vaginal systolic pressure and resting pressure were significantly increased in both groups, with higher levels in the PFMT+ET group. Also, the improvement in female sexual function index score and persistent time of vaginal muscle contraction was observed to be greater in the PFMT+ET group than in the CT group. Additionally, PFMT combined with estriol resulted in lower levels of urinary leakage in the 1-hour pad test, residual urine volume, and frequency of urinary incontinence. Conclusions. The postoperative intervention of PFMT combined with estriol in perimenopausal patients with TH can significantly improve vaginal muscle contraction, improve the quality of sexual life, and reduce the degree of PFD, which has a good application prospect.