The Effect of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises on Bowel Evacuation and Quality of Life in Following Intestinal Ostomy Closure

PURPOSE: This purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFMEs) on bowel evacuation problems and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following ostomy closure. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Forty individuals following ostomy closure consented to participate in the study; 6 participants (15%) did not complete the trial (2 died and 2 required a second ostomy) yielding a study sample of 34. Participants were randomly allocated to an Exercise Group (EG, n = 17) and Control Group (CG, n = 17). The mean age of the EG was 55.7 (SD 12.6) years, whereas the mean age of the CG was 62.0 (SD 12.1) years. The study setting was the surgery clinic of 4 hospitals in Ankara, Turkey. Data were collected between December 2018 and May 2020. METHODS: The study intervention, PFME training by a clinician, was administered to participants in the EG; CG participants received no information regarding PFME. Data were collected during face-to-face interviews on the day before discharge and by phone at the first, second, third, and sixth months after surgery. A questionnaire was used for data collection that queried a demographic and pertinent clinical questions, along with the Assessment Form for Bowel Evacuation Habits and Psychosocial Problems, Wexner Scale, and the Short Form (SF-36) Health-related Quality of Life Scale. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney U test, t-test, Pearson-χ 2 test, Fisher’s Exact test, Friedman test, and Cochran-Q test statistical analysis according to normal distribution were used in data evaluation. RESULTS: The number of defecations in the EG was statistically significantly lower than the CG at the second, third, and sixth months ( P = .002, P = .002, P = .001, respectively). In addition, the number of individuals experiencing night defecation was statistically significantly less in the EG compared to the CG at the second-, third-, and sixth-month follow-ups ( P = .001, P = .001, P = .028, respectively). HRQOL scores were also significantly higher in the EG. CONCLUSION: Pelvic floor exercises applied after ostomy closure are effective in reducing bowel evacuation and increasing quality of life. Given these findings, PFMEs are recommended for patients after ostomy closure.