Muscle function of the pelvic floor in healthy and puerperal women and with pelvic floor dysfunction

Abstract

ObjectivesTo understand the function of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) at different ages in healthy women and in puerperal women with pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD) and to ascertain whether there are differences among them. Material and methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2014 and September 2016 and included 177 women, 70 of whom had no symptoms of PFD, 53 primiparous mothers in late postpartum and 54 with PFD. The function of the PFM was measured through vaginal palpation (quality of the contraction); manometry (force); dynamometer (tone, strength, and response to stretching), and surface electromyography (neuromuscular activity and resistance). ResultsThe healthy women showed superior values for PFM tone, maximum strength, neuromuscular activity and resistance than the puerperal mothers and the women with PFD (p<0.01). The puerperal women and those with PFD showed similar functional PFM values (p>0.05). The muscle function of the healthy women did not vary significantly with age, except in the case of tone, which was lower in the women older than 46 years (p=0.004). ConclusionsAge and births decrease the baseline tone of the PFM in healthy women. Therefore, lower strength, resistance and neuromuscular activity appear to be the main difference between the PFM of women with PFD and the PFM of healthy women.