Effect of Increasing Awareness of Genital Anatomy on Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) are those that help support the pelvic organs during rest and participate in the occlusion of the urogenital hiatus, playing an important role in maintaining urinary and fecal continence. Women's lack of knowledge or ignorance of these muscles makes awareness a mandatory step in any perineal reeducation intervention. The aim of the study was to evaluate and quantify the influence of knowledge of genital anatomy on the function of contraction of these muscles. It is a prospective, randomized, and blinded study including 43 volunteers divided into 2 groups: with an explanation (WE) group, consisting of 18 women who received an explanation of pelvic anatomy, and a no explanation (NE) group, with 19 women. Explanations were given regarding location of the genital structures and purposes of the PFM. To find out whether the patients understood the explanation, they were asked to confirm some questions. Patients who gave incorrect responses to the questions were excluded. NE measurements were carried out before and after a casual conversation who were not given any guidance. An evaluation of the PFM, using a perineometer (Peritron, Australia), was performed before and after intervention. PFM strength was analyzed for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and analysis of variance for repeated measures with the Tukey post hoc was used for comparison of the pre- and postintervention means. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. The WE group had 12.6 (±1.3) and 15.2 (±2.01) mm Hg in pre- and postmeasurement, respectively. Providing education about genital anatomy and PFM function can immediately improve the strength of the PFM contraction by 20% (P = .005). The brief anatomical explanation produced positive effects on the function of the PFM and recommended that professionals provide these explanations during the evaluation of pelvic floor function and before starting treatment for pelvic floors dysfunction.