Abdominal and pelvic floor muscle function in women with and without long lasting pelvic girdle pain

Ethnic differences in pelvic floor muscle strength and endurance in South African women

“…The findings in this paper therefore add weight to the belief that black women have PFM that are better equipped to withstand the effect of intra-abdominal forces on the urinary tract and thus are less likely to experience SUI [1] Similar results were found if the PFM strength of the white students of this study when compared to strength measurements of continent physiotherapy students in Norwegian studies [24][25][26][27]. Moreover, other studies evaluating vaginal squeeze pressure in continent women reported values in the same area, which compares favourably with values of mixed-race and white women in the present study [18,28]. However, caution must be exercised when direct comparisons are made as measurements have been done with different measuring apparatus [15] Mean maximal contraction values for women with SUI or mixed incontinence have much lower reported values (5-16.2 cmH 2 O) [16,26,26,[29][30][31].…”

Comparison of the Sonographic Features of the Abdominal Wall Muscles and Connective Tissues in Individuals With and Without Lumbopelvic Pain

“…8,18,28,47,49,52 Most of these investigations found no difference in the resting thickness of these muscles in cohorts with LBP 8,18,49,52 or pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain. 47 With respect to the EO, both Critchley and Coutts 8 and Jansen et al 28 reported no difference in thickness between controls and case cohorts of LBP and longstanding groin pain, respectively. There is 1 study that investigated the thickness of the RA muscle and IRD in controls and a case cohort of postpartum women, which found the RA to be significantly thinner and the IRD wider in the postpartum group.…”

Ultrasound Imaging and Muscle Function

“…Although, for reasons explained above, it would be inappropriate to assume that the smaller change in thickness in the lumbopelvic pain cohort was due solely to a decreased amount of muscle activity, knowing that a 24% and an 11% change in thickness of the TrA and IO, respectively, is expected during an active straight leg raise test is potentially useful. In addition to this example and in keeping with the abdominal wall muscles as an example, investigators have measured thickness, length, and/or CSA in both resting 7,12,54,59,63 and dynamic conditions (eg, abdominal drawing-in maneuver, 11,69 respiration, 1,72 balance, upper limb tasks, 51 and walking tasks) within various (low back, lumbopelvic, and pelvic girdle pain, 67 amputees, 62 postpartum, 8 and healthy) cohorts. These studies provide normal resting values and/or describe patterns of architectural change.…”