Could simple exercises improve bladder control after spinal injury?
NCT ID NCT07519928
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study looks at whether pelvic floor muscle training is practical and helpful for people recovering from a spinal cord injury during inpatient rehab. Researchers will recruit 50 participants to do pelvic floor physiotherapy five times a week for six weeks. The goal is to see if this training can improve bladder, bowel, and sexual function, as well as quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pelvic floor muscle physiotherapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple, drug-free way to improve bladder, bowel, and sexual function for people with spinal cord injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study with only 50 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. It focuses on whether the training is practical, not on proving it works.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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19 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Are at least 19 years of age. 2. Have a traumatic or non-traumatic SCI 3. Are able to perform a voluntary anal contraction 4. Present with bladder or urinary tract dysfunction from SCI 5. Are a current inpatient at GF Strong Rehabilitation Center and are expected to remain as an inpatient for at least 6 weeks after the time of consent. 6. Are able to speak and understand English. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Present with symptoms of lower motor neuron injury to the sacral segments (e.g. negative anal and bulbocavernosus reflexes) 2. Present with any other condition besides SCI that impacts the pelvic floor muscles or other pelvic structures 3. Are planning to receive intra-detrusor Botox injections in the next 3 months 4. Have a brain injury or other condition that interferes with their ability to follow instructions 5. Are using a ventilator 6. Have severe and unmanaged spasticity (involuntary muscle tightness or spasms) or contractures (prolonged muscle/joint stiffness) 7. Are unable to tolerate transfers to or lie on a physical therapy table 8. Experience severe pain that interferes with their ability to participate in pelvic floor muscle training
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre
RECRUITINGVancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 2G9, Canada
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Spinal implant aims to restore bladder control after paralysis
- Can virtual walking trick the brain into easing chronic pain?
- Spinal fluid antibody shots tested for fresh spinal cord injuries
- Mind over matter: can a brain implant restore hand control?
- Mind over matter: can a wireless brain implant restore control for the paralyzed?