Men with urinary incontinence are unlikely to benefit from formal one-to-one pelvic floor muscle training, a study has found.

Scientists at the University of Aberdeen led two randomised clinical trials to find out whether one-to-one sessions were any more effective than standard care and lifestyle advice.

Participants were all affected by male incontinence after undergoing prostate surgery six weeks earlier.

Half of the men attended four sessions with a therapist over a three-month period, while the others only received standard care and lifestyle advice.

After 12 months, the researchers found no difference in the rate of male incontinence between the two study groups.

Seventy-six per cent of men who had one-to-one therapy sessions were still dependent on incontinence supplies, along with 77 per cent of men who received standard care.

The researchers also noted that one-to-one sessions were more expensive.

Writing in the Lancet medical journal, the study authors concluded: "In settings where information about pelvic floor exercise is widely available, one-to-one conservative physical therapy for men who are incontinent after prostate surgery is unlikely to be effective or cost-effective.

"The high rates of persisting incontinence after 12 months suggest a substantial unrecognised and unmet need for management in these men."