Effects of Action Observation Training (AOT) in the Achievement of Urinary Continence in Men After Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy (RALP)

Istituto Clinico Humanitas

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Urinary Incontinence

Treatments: Other: Action observation training

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05311267

751

Details and patient eligibility

About

Urinary incontinence (UI) is one of the most common side effects of radical prostatectomy (RP) and compromises men's quality of life. The first line treatment for urinary incontinence is the conservative approach of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training (PFMT) but, up to date, there seems to be no statistically significant difference in the effectiveness of several proposed physiotherapy treatments.

Literature highlights the importance of also adding an educational component regarding the intentional contraction of the pelvic floor muscles (a skill termed "the Knack"). Moreover, in some studies, carried out on a sample of women, was introduced the use of virtual reality. This increased the adherence to treatment and showed an improvement in urinary continence. In addition to virtual reality, another intervention methodology used in physiotherapy is the one of Action Observation training (AOT) whose effectiveness has been proven both in sports and rehabilitation.

However, currently the effect of this innovative type of treatment has not yet been studied in men with UI following radical prostatectomy intervention.

The aim of this clinical study is to investigate the effectiveness of using AOT on urinary incontinence in subjects undergoing robotic radical prostatectomy.

Enrollment: 92 estimated patients

Sex: Male

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients who have undergone Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy with post-operative IU.
• Objectivity of recruitment and contraction of pelvic floor musculature (PP) at manual perineal testing.

Exclusion criteria

• Preoperative incontinence
• Pre-intervention radiotherapy
• Previous urogenital surgery beyond Robot-assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy.
• Concomitant presence of neurological, internal or musculoskeletal diseases that may affect functional or motor recovery.
• Less than 5 seconds of endurance in PP contraction

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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92 participants in 2 patient groups

AOT

Experimental group

Description:

Participants who, in addiction to standard rehabilitation program after surgery (isometric exercises), underwent two training session of action observation therapy.

Treatment:

Other: Action observation training

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants who received standard rehabilitation program after surgery. The control group, before performing the functional exercises watched two videos of different landscapes lasting 4 minutes each.