Background and Objective: Rectal prolapse, characterized by the protrusion of the internal anal wall, is a debilitating condition often associated with pelvic floor muscle weakness. The present study aimed to compare the effects of functional core stability exercises, electrical muscle stimulation (EMS), and a combination of these modalities on pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance in women with rectal prolapse.
Methodology: This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design. A total of 48 women with rectal prolapse from Isfahan were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to four groups: functional exercise, EMS exercise, combined exercise and control. The intervention program lasted eight weeks, with three 60-minute sessions per week. Outcome variables were assessed before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Results: The findings demonstrated a significant improvement in pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance in both the EMS and combined exercise groups (P≤0.05). Although the functional exercise group showed an increase in muscle strength, this change did not reach statistical significance (P>0.05). Furthermore, the combined training group exhibited significantly greater improvements across variables compared to the EMS-only and functional-only groups (P≤0.05).
Conclusion: These results suggest that integrating electrical stimulation with functional training provides superior benefits in enhancing pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance in women with rectal prolapse. Therefore, rehabilitation centers, physicians, and therapists are encouraged to adopt such combined approaches as an effective strategy for improving clinical outcomes in this patient population
