Adjunctive Immersive Virtual Reality for Urinary Incontinence-Related Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women with Urinary Incontinence: A Non-Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

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).