Pelvic floor muscle function in normal women and the patients with pelvic floor dysfunction

Objectives: To compare the pelvic floor muscle function between the women with pelvic floor dysfunction and normal controls Methods: Vaginal palpation and dynamometric measurements were used to assess the pelvic floor muscle strength of 10 women suffering from stress urinary incontinence(SUI),10 with uterus prolapse,10 with uterus prolapse complicating with stress urinary incontinence and 10 normal women.Results from the palpation test were compared with measurements of vaginal squeeze pressure using dynamometric device.Duration and speed of pelvic floor muscle contraction were compared between SUI group and control group.Results: The inter-rater reliability for vaginal palpation according to the dynamometric measurements was 0.549 measured by Spearman's rho.The women with pelvic floor dysfunction demonstrated lower force of pelvic floor muscle.Duration and speed of pelvic floor muscle contraction were both lower in the SUI group than in control group. Conclusion: Vaginal palpation is simple and valid to measure pelvic floor muscle strength.The function of pelvic floor muscle is impaired in women with pelvic floor dysfunction.