{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: This study examined whether adding relaxation-oriented immersive virtual reality (VR) to pelvic floor muscle electrostimulation with electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback was associated with additional improvement in incontinence-related quality of life among postmenopausal women. Methods: In this exploratory non-randomized controlled pilot trial, 40 postmenopausal women received electrostimulation with EMG biofeedback alone (ES; n = 20) or the same intervention preceded by VR (VR + ES; n = 20). Participants completed eight sessions over 2 weeks and were assessed at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 2-week follow-up (T2); T1 was the prespecified primary assessment. The primary outcome was the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire (I-QOL) total score. Secondary outcomes included pelvic floor EMG, bladder-diary variables, other quality-of-life measures, perceived stress, and self-esteem. Baseline-adjusted linear mixed models were used. The registry record was submitted before enrollment (NCT07070063). Results: Thirty-six participants contributed to the primary analysis. The adjusted between-group difference in I-QOL was −1.65 points at T1 (95% CI, −10.03 to 6.74; p = 0.70) and −4.00 points at T2 (95% CI, −12.38 to 4.39; p = 0.35). Adjusted contrasts were non-significant for the remaining questionnaire and EMG outcomes. Selected bladder-diary outcomes differed between groups, but these analyses were exploratory, unadjusted for multiple comparisons, and did not directly quantify urinary leakage. Conclusions: The study did not detect a statistically significant additional improvement in incontinence-related quality of life with adjunctive VR. Confidence intervals remained compatible with potentially meaningful effects in either direction. Given the small sample and non-randomized design, the findings are preliminary and hypothesis-generating.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Physiotherapy, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, 51-612 Wroclaw, Poland",
    "Healthcare Innovation Technology Lab, IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126 Venice, Italy",
    "Department of Gynaecology, Independent Public Health Care Center of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Wroclaw, 50-233 Wroclaw, Poland",
    "Institute of Health, DSW Ideis University, 53-611 Wroclaw, Poland"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Gabriela Kołodyńska",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7921-7058"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Błażej Cieślik",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7275-7860"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Aleksandra Piątek",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5887-817X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Maciej Zalewski",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0924-6870"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Joanna Szczepańska-Gieracha"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Waldemar Andrzejewski",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0010-3021"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0aqh7kkesnpj7.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/jcm15197726",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13666500/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "0aqh7kkesnpj7",
  "issns": [
    "2077-0383"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666500",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2745|Pelvic floor disorders treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221120525",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13666500/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13666500",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0aqh7kkesnpj7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13666500",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666500"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:00Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/jcm15197726",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/19/7726"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2745|Pelvic floor disorders treatments",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Adjunctive Immersive Virtual Reality for Urinary Incontinence-Related Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women with Urinary Incontinence: A Non-Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial",
  "title_text": "Adjunctive Immersive Virtual Reality for Urinary Incontinence-Related Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women with Urinary Incontinence: A Non-Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0aqh7kkesnpj7",
  "venue": "Journal of clinical medicine",
  "versions": []
}