Overview
The purpose of this study is to determine if pelvic floor muscle training with a physical therapist before and after surgery will improve health-related quality of life following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.
Description
Goals of the present study will be to determine whether initiating pelvic floor muscle training preoperatively improves quality of life symptoms related specifically to urinary health following robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Drawing definitive conclusions from past studies is challenging secondary to various inconsistencies including: variability of physical therapy intervention, poorly defined definitions of continence, as well as poorly defined quality of life measurements. Additionally, the vast majority of studies combined open and robotic prostatectomy increasing cohort heterogeneity and further blurring interpretation of results. The investigators' study will focus exclusively on patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. Standardized pelvic floor muscle therapy as well as clearly defined patient outcomes (ie: validated questionnaires) will be utilized to determine whether preoperative initiation of formal pelvic floor physical therapy can improve health-related quality of life following surgery.
In the era of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy does physical therapist initiated preoperative pelvic floor muscle training lessen the expected postoperative drop off in urinary related quality of life and/or improve patient's recovery of continence following surgery?
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients scheduling to undergo robot-assisted radical prostatectomy
- Patients willing and able to complete the EPIC questionnaire in its entirety
- Ability to provide informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Previous prostate surgery
- Radiation treatment
- History of incontinence defined as any pad use for urinary leakage in the past 6 months