Improvement of urge- and mixed-type incontinence after acupuncture treatment among elderly women — a pilot study

The aim of this study was to investigate if sensory stimulation in the form of manual acupuncture could influence urge- or mixed-type incontinence among elderly women who were not satisfactorily relieved by standard pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments given at a specialised incontinence unit. The study is an open clinical follow-up study. The study included 15 elderly women who were treated with manual acupuncture 12 times. Both subjective scorings and objective measurements in the form of leakage in grams (48 h Inco-test) were used. Evaluations were performed at discharge and 1 and 3 months thereafter. Almost all outcome measurements were significantly improved even at follow-up 3 months after the last treatment. Global scorings showed that 12 of the 15 women considered themselves improved even at the follow-up 3 month after treatments were completed. The possible mechanisms of action are discussed, as is the way to perform more studies in this field.