Effect of Cheek Acupuncture on Stress Urinary Incontinence in menopausal women: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract Background Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects quality of life and imposes healthcare burdens, particularly in postmenopausal women. While non-surgical interventions are recommended as first-line therapies, patient adherence remains a challenge. Aim To compare the effectiveness of Cheek Acupuncture (CA) with PFMT for managing SUI in menopausal women. Design and Methods A randomized controlled trial in China assigned participants to CA (n = 51) or PFMT (n = 52) groups for a 12-week intervention, with a 4-week follow-up. The primary outcome were the change in the amount of urine leakage measured through a 1-hr pad test and the frequency of urinary incontinence by the 72-hour urination diary card. The secondary outcome measures included International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire short version (IIQ-7). Results and conclusion After the 12-week intervention, both groups demonstrated significant decreases in urine leakage, incontinence episodes, ICIQ-SF and IIQ-7 scores. The CA group demonstrated greater reductions in mean urine leakage (6.8 g vs. 3.68 g) (P＜0.001), incontinence episodes (3.41 vs. 1.09) (P＜0.001), and superior improvements in ICIQ-SF (-8.94 vs. -2.94) and IIQ-7 scores (-6.68 vs. -1.41) compared to the PFMT group (both P＜0.001). Treatment-related adverse events were mild, with incidences of 5.8% in the CA group and 3.8% in the PFMT group. At week 16, CA demonstrated significantly greater improvements compared to PFMT. These findings indicate that both cheek acupuncture and PFMT significantly improved urinary incontinence in menopausal SUI patients, CA demonstrated greater effectiveness and long-term stability during the follow-up period. Clinical trial identification number ChiCTR2000034093 URL of the registration site https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=55436