Affiliation:
1. Faculty of Physical Therapy Cairo University Giza Egypt
2. Medical Research Platform Giza Egypt
3. Faculty of Medicine University of Gezira Wad Madani Sudan
4. Faculty of Medicine Ain Shams University Cairo Egypt
5. Faculty of Medicine Tanta University Tanta Egypt
6. College of Medicine University of Sharjah Sharjah UAE
7. Faculty of Physical Therapy Benha University Benha Egypt
8. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Delta University for Science and Technology Dakahlia Egypt
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundUrinary Incontinence (UI) is a global health issue that mainly affects the female population worldwide. Different approaches have been sought for the management of UI including Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) using Virtual Reality (VR) gaming. We conducted this study to evaluate the effectiveness of VR gaming for rehabilitation of pelvic floor muscles (PFM) and improving urinary symptoms in patients with UI.MethodWe've included studies that contain any type of VR in all geographic locations and settings with no restrictions on the date of publication, age, or gender. Our exclusion criteria include reviews, case series, case reports, unextractable data, unavailable full text, abstract only articles, and studies don't show the effects of VR as a treatment for UI. A pre‐specified search term was used and modified according to the requirements of each of the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, Google scholar, and ScienceDirect. For risk of bias assessment, two assessment tools have been used: ROB 2.0 for RCTs and NIH for single arm studies.ResultsOf 915 papers identified from 6 databases, 341 papers were assigned for screening after removing duplicates, 11 papers were eligible for full text screening, and 4 papers were finally included. The qualitative analysis of the results identifies six outcomes grouped into three primary categories: PFM, urinary symptoms, and quality of life. Only urinary loss outcome was eligible for meta‐analysis. The net effect between Game therapy + PFMT and PFMT reached MD = −5.49, 95% CI [−12.36:1.38] (heterogeneity; I2 = 95%, p < 0.01).ConclusionOur research underscores the potential of VR gaming as a valuable adjunctive therapy for pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation in patients with UI. However, further studies are needed to explore its long‐term effectiveness, optimal therapy parameters, and cost‐effectiveness.RegistrationOur protocol has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022384500).