In February 2019 researchers from the USA published their review of the medical scientific literature to assess the effects of yoga for treating urinary incontinence in women. It is thought that the condition may affect up to 15% of middle-aged or older women. Conventional treatments include lifestyle interventions, bladder training and pelvic floor muscle training but many women are interested in additional treatments such as yoga. Only two studies, involving 49 women, were identified in the literature. One study, which lasted for 6 weeks, compared the effect of yoga to a waiting list of 19 women with either urgency urinary incontinence or stress urinary incontinence. The second study lasted for 8 weeks and compared mindfulness-based stress reduction to an intervention of yoga classes. Both studies were at high risk of bias. Review of the data left the researchers uncertain as to whether yoga is useful for women with urinary incontinence. Further research with larger sample sizes are therefore required.
Wieland LS et al. Yoga for treating urinary incontinence in women. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Feb 28;2:CD012668.