Combined Effects of Swiss Ball Exercises and Diaphragmatic Breathing in Pregnant Females

Summary

30 to 60 percent of the pregnant females experience stress urinary incontinence depending on various factors like trimester, parity and body weight. Stress urinary incontinence is a common yet often underreported condition affecting pregnant women, characterized by involuntary leakage of urine during physical activities such as coughing, sneezing, or exercising. Stress urinary incontinence majorly occurs due to increased intra-abdominal pressure and weakened pelvic floor muscles which are further strained during pregnancy. Despite its impact on quality of life, awareness and management remains inadequate. Strengthening the pelvic floor muscles plays a critical role in managing stress urinary incontinence and Swiss ball exercises have emerged as an effective and low impact method to improve core stability and pelvic floor muscle strength. These exercises engage deep abdominal and pelvic muscles in a functional and dynamic way, potentially enhancing both physical and psychological well-being during pregnancy.

. The study will be conducted as a randomized control trial involving females with stress urinary incontinence in Zia Hospital Lahore and Ittefaq Hospital Lahore. The study will be completed within 10 months of synopsis approval. A non-probability sampling technique will be employed and 42 patients will be enrolled after randomization. Participants will be divided into two groups. Group A will undergo a structured program involving Swiss ball exercises combined with diaphragmatic breathing. Group B will receive Swiss ball exercises without diaphragmatic breathing. Kegel exercises will be considered the baseline treatment. Outcome measures will include syptoms of stress urinary incontinence (using International Consultation Incontinence Questionnaire), pelvic floor muscle strength (assessed through standardized tools i.e. Modified Oxford Scale) and self-reported quality of life (using validated questionnaires i.e. King's Health Questionnaire). The data collected will be analyzed using IBM SPSS statistics version 25.

Conditions

• Urinary Incontinence
• Muscle Strength
• Quality of Life

Interventions

OTHER

kegels exercises

kegels exercises will be considered the baseline treatment for both groups

OTHER

Diaphragmatic breathing

There will be total 12 sessions carried for 6 weeks. 3-4 sessions will be given per week. In each session, patients will be exposed to moderate intensity Swiss ball exercises will include, Swiss ball wall squats, pelvic tilts, bridging with legs on Swiss ball and ball squeeze. Each exercise will be carried out in 3 sets of 10 repetitions for 20-25 minutes session. After each set, patient will be asked to follow the diaphragmatic breathing by deep inhaling through nose and exhaling with pursed lips for 3-4 seconds. During the breathing, patient will hold onto pelvic contractions kept on for 10-15 minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Riphah International University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Masooma Saleem, MSPT WH · Riphah International University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-31

Primary Completion

2026-09-30

Completion

2026-09-30

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations