Effects of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training During Pregnancy

Abstract

OJETIVE:The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of pelvic floor muscle training in 46 nulliparous pregnant women. METHODS:The women were divided into 2 groups: an exercise group and a control group. Functional evaluation of the pelvic floor muscle was performed by digital vaginal palpation using the strength scale described by Ortiz and by a perineometer (with and without biofeedback). RESULTS:The functional evaluation of the pelvic floor muscles showed a significant increase in pelvic floor muscle strength during pregnancy in both groups (P < .001). However, the magnitude of the change was greater in the exercise group than in the control group (47.4% vs. 17.3%, P < .001). The study also showed a significant positive correlation (Spearman´s test, r = 0.643; P < .001) between perineometry and digital assessment in the strength of pelvic floor muscles. CONCLUSIONS: Pelvic floor muscle training resulted in a significant increase in pelvic floor muscle pressure and strength during pregnancy. A significant positive correlation between functional evaluation of the pelvic floor muscle and perineometry was observed during pregnancy. KEYWORDS:Exercise and movement techniques. Pelvic floor. Musculoskeletal diseases. Perineum. Pregnancy. Brief summary:To evaluate the effects of pelvic floor muscle training during pregnancy by evaluation of pelvic floor muscle function of the pelvic floor and by perineometry. The analysis of the effects of functional evaluation of the pelvic floor revealed a significant increase in pelvic floor muscle strength during pregnancy.

Perineal Muscle Strength During Pregnancy and Postpartum: the Correlation Between Perineometry and Digital Vaginal Palpation

“…The strong positive correlation obtained in this study between the two methods of evaluating PFMS indicates that perineometry can be validated by the clinical method of digital vaginal palpation using the Oxford scales, which is in agreement with other authors' conclusions (11,13) .…”

“…To evaluate the PF muscles and diagnose disorders in the genitourinary and anal tracts, different exams are used: magnetic resonance, manometry, anal endosonography, translabial ultrasound, electromyography, perineometry, digital vaginal palpation, and neurophysiological and urodynamic studies of the PF (2,(5)(6)(7)(8)(10)(11)(12)(13) .…”

“…Perineometry and digital vaginal palpation are the most frequently used methods to measure PFMS in clinical practice (11)(12)(13) . Evaluating PFMS can be essential in determining the type of treatment for women who present certain morbidities in the genitourinary tract (14) .…”

“…Studies evaluating PFMS through digital vaginal palpation and perineometry revealed that even though these are different methods, they are positively correlated (11,13) . Other authors, however, verified that there is no significant correlation between digital vaginal palpation and perineometry (15) .…”

Resistance exercise training during pregnancy and newborn's birth size: a randomised controlled trial

“…57 Other potential benefits of resistance training include better posture, prevention of gestational low back pain and diastasis recti, and strengthening of the pelvic floor. 58,59 Limitations of this study include the fact that we did not record detailed information about dietary habits. However, it is unlikely that this had a major influence on the results because both groups of women were well nourished, ate to appetite, and had similar weight gain during pregnancy, and also similar BMI before pregnancy and before delivery.…”