Are Pelvic Floor Muscle Thickness and Size of Levator Hiatus Associated With Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength, Endurance and Vaginal Resting Pressure in Women With Pelvic Organ Prolapse Stages I-III? A Cross Sectional 3D Ultrasound Study

Background: The pelvic floor muscles (PFM) play an important role in supporting the pelvic and abdominal organs and controlling urinary and fecal continence, in addition to their role in the sexual function. The objective of this study was to compare pelvic floor muscle strength in primiparous 6 months after delivery and nulliparous women, to evaluate pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) in these women and to find the association of PFD with pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS).Methods: A total of 100 women were recruited in the cross-sectional study which included 28 nulliparous and 72 primiparous women 6 months after delivery. The assessment included general physical examination (GPE), POP-Q and assessment of pelvic floor muscle strength by modified oxford score and perineometer.Results: Endurance of PFMS measured by duration of contraction and number of contractions/min was higher in nulliparous. Mean of the duration of contraction was significantly higher in nulliparous group as compared to primipara i.e., 28.61 seconds and 23.9 seconds in nulliparous and primiparous group respectively (p=0.005). Mean of the number of contractions performed in one minute was significantly higher in nulliparous group as compared to primipara i.e., 31.04 and 19.97 in nulliparous and primiparous group respectively (p<0.0001). None of the nulliparous women had any PFD symptoms, while 4.17% of the primiparous patients had PFD in the form of bladder symptoms and 1.39% of them had PFD in the form bowel symptoms. Vaginal squeeze pressure was found to be affected by mode of delivery. It was lowest in instrumental delivery. It was 39.78±13.33 cmH20 in vaginal delivery, 51.42±12.88 cmH2O in Caesarean section and 31.67±14.36 cmH2O in instrumental delivery (p-0.039).Conclusions: Endurance of PFMS measured by duration of contraction and number of contractions/min was higher in nulliparous. Vaginal squeeze pressure was found to be affected by mode of delivery. It was lowest in instrumental delivery.

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The effect of parity on pelvic floor muscle strength and quality of life in women with urinary incontinence: a cross sectional study

Journal of Physical Therapy Science ◽

10.1589/jpts.27.2133 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 27 (7) ◽

pp. 2133-2137 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Özlem Çınar Özdemır ◽

Yesim Bakar ◽

Nuriye Özengın ◽

Bülent Duran

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Urinary Incontinence ◽

Muscle Strength ◽

Pelvic Floor ◽

Pelvic Floor Muscle ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength

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Effect of Hypopressive exercise in women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Nepal Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology ◽

10.3126/njog.v16i1.37517 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jyoti Parle ◽

Sana Shahmalak ◽

Divya Irkar

Keyword(s):

Pelvic Organ Prolapse ◽

Muscle Strength ◽

Pelvic Floor ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Pelvic Floor Muscle ◽

Pelvic Organ ◽

P Value ◽

Pelvic Floor Muscle Strength ◽

Post Evaluation ◽

Significant Difference

Aim: To study the effect of Hypopressive exercises to improve pelvic floor muscle strength in women with Pelvic Organ Prolapse.(grade 1and 2). Methods: This is an experimental study conducted on women of urban and rural areas of Kamothe and Kalamboli in India who presented with grade 1 and grade 2 Pelvic Organ Prolapse. 20 women (35 years and above) were recruited after taking their consent. The outcome measures assessed during pre and post evaluation were pelvic floor muscle strength as measured by modified oxford scale and perinometer whereas Pelvic Organ Prolapse symptoms by pelvic floor distress inventory scale-20. Intervention consisted of 6-weeks of Hypopressive exercises with a physiotherapist. The protocol consisted of three sessions weekly with progression in each week. Precautions to be taken during the study were explained to the participants each time. Results: Hypopressive exercises presented positive results with statistically significant difference in pre and post evaluation of outcome measures. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test analysis reported p-value of 0.00 for modified oxford scale. For perinometer, p-value for peak, average, duration and gradient was 0.00, 0.00, 0.01 and 0.04 respectively. Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory Scale reported p-value of 0.00. Conclusion: Hypopressive exercises exhibited improvements in pelvic floor muscle strength and reducing the symptoms of Pelvic Organ Prolapse.

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