Effect of habitual lumbar curvature on electromyographic activity of trunk muscle and intravaginal pressure during still standing and dynamic task among non-osteoporotic post-menopausal women

Abstract

The pelvic floor muscles support vital organs like the bladder, colon, and internal reproductive systems. These muscles synergistically function with the abdominal muscle to control continence. Pelvic floor muscle insufficiency results in poor control over continence during various activities. The efficient control of abdominal muscles to support the pelvic floor function require stabilization of the spine which in turn gets affected by the change in the mechanics due to the altered lumbar spine angle. In the present study, we intended to find the effect of lumbar spine angle on trunk muscle tonic activity, and pelvic floor function. A total of seventy-eight non-osteoporotic menopausal continent women were recruited and based on their lumbar lordotic angle, they were allocated to three groups (Hyper, hypo, and normal lordosis). The electromyographic tonic activity of erector spinae (ES), rectus abdominis (RA), and vaginal pressure was recorded during standing still (SS), maximal coughing (MC), and Valsalva maneuver (VM). The data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance and the Tukey post hoc test. The confidence level was kept at 95%, i.e., p<0.05. We found the trunk muscle tonic activity and vaginal pressure reduced as the lumbar lordotic angle changed to a hyper and hypo lordotic spine.