Surface electromyography of pelvic floor muscles in stress urinary incontinence

Abstract

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), whose incidence has been reported to range between 15% and 60% among women [1,2], is defined as the involuntary passing of urine when abdominal pressure is increased. It is considered to result from a weakness of the pelvic floor, and some studies have shown evidence of partial denervation of the pelvic floor muscles in women with SUI [3]. However, there are few precise measurements of pelvic floor muscle activity. Electromyography is a noninvasive and welltolerated method of studying electric potentials produced by the depolarization of muscle fibers. The objective of this study was to obtain perineal electrophysiologic data and assess the clinical