Assessment of the relationship between the incidence of urogenital complaints in young women and pelvic floor muscle weakness

Background
Modern society is increasingly seeing urogenital com- plaints in increasingly younger women. Early diagnosis and reducing the impact of dysfunction on other systems is an important issue. Fast, objective, and portable tools for assessing pelvic floor muscles (PFM) include digital assessment methods, such as surface electro- myography (sEMG).

Aims
The main aim of the study was to assess the relationship be- tween conditions of the urogenital system in young women and the weakening of the PFM. The PFM were also assessed indirectly by analyzing the rectus abdominis and adductors muscles, as well as the baseline tension of these muscles.

Material and methods
The Pelvic Floor Bother Questionnaire (PFBQ) was used to identify the study group. A questionnaire study was carried out on 50 women, and 31 of them were qualified for sEMG. A Noraxon MyoTrace EMG device and MyoResearch XP Mas- ter 1.07 software were used for the study. The study was based on the Glazer protocol and the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) measurement of the rectus abdominis and adductors muscles.

Results
The questionnaire showed a large number of women struggling with different types of complaints affecting their daily functioning. Statistical analysis in most parameters showed no sig- nificant differences between muscles.

Conclusions
Non-skeletal complaints may weaken the PFM, caus- ing increased activation of synergistic muscles. It is possible to as- sess the pelvic floor indirectly, but no baseline increased tension of the rectus abdominis and adductors muscles is found.