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Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation

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Management of Fecal Incontinence

Abstract

In the 1950s, the observations of the American surgeon Arnold Kegel led to the recognition of the concept of pelvic floor rehabilitation and to the subsequent use of the muscular portion of the pelvic floor in the treatment of urinary incontinence and genital prolapse. In fact these specific muscular exercises became known as Kegel exercises. In the 1970s, this concept of a therapeutic approach to treat the dysfunctions of the pelvic floor was revived and proposed in Europe, above all by French professionals. Today the most distinguished medical organizations recognize the validity of pelvic floor rehabilitation and consider it a first-line therapeutic approach for the treatment of certain pathological conditions: fecal and urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, syndrome of chronic pelvic pain, sexual dysfunctions, alterations in the sensory control, and evacuation process of defecation.

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Correspondence to Lucia d’Alba MD .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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d’Alba, L., Rivera, M. (2016). Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation. In: Mongardini, M., Giofrè, M. (eds) Management of Fecal Incontinence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32226-1_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32226-1_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-32224-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32226-1

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