HFitness Study 1: Impact in Women with Urinary Incontinence
HFITNESS results in significant improvements to incontinence and quality of life measures. HFITNESS provides an important incontinence treatment option and gives women greater access to effective conservative therapy.
Introduction
Urinary incontinence affects many women and carries substantial impacts on their quality of life, financial health, and work disability. In-person conservative therapy—including pelvic floor muscle training, behavioral modifications, and dietary changes—has proven effectiveness for treating incontinence. However, barriers to accessing in-person care persist, such as limited specialized therapists, financial constraints, and scheduling difficulties. To overcome these obstacles, researchers developed an online pelvic floor rehabilitation program called HFITNESS.
Study Design
The study examined continence and quality of life outcomes in women experiencing stress urinary incontinence (SUI), urge urinary incontinence (UUI), or mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) treated with HFITNESS. Measurements occurred at baseline and following completion of the 2-month program using:
- International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire—Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
- Urgency Perception Scale (UPS)
- Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ-7)
- 24-hour bladder diary
Key Findings
Following HFITNESS treatment, 19 participants (2 SUI, 2 UUI, 15 MUI) demonstrated:
- Significantly improved stress incontinence scores (3.04 ± 0.19 vs 1.81 ± 0.23, p < 0.001)
- Better urgency scores (2.52 ± 0.18 vs 2.05 ± 0.14, p = 0.003)
- Enhanced quality of life scores (5.16 ± 0.88 vs 3.07 ± 0.70, p = 0.038)
- Reduced daily incontinence episodes (2.96 ± 0.60 vs 1.06 ± 0.29, p < 0.001)
Additionally, 89% of respondents reported program satisfaction, ease of use, and willingness to recommend the program to others.