ArticleInternational urogynecology journal2020
Ability to contract the pelvic floor muscles and association with muscle function in incontinent women.
Article in International urogynecology journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Does the Contractile Capability of Pelvic Floor Muscles Improve with Knowledge Acquisition and Verbal Instructions in Healthy Women? A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Randomized Control Trial Comparing Common Errors Made by Women During Three Different Methods of Pelvic Floor Muscle Contraction Training: By Verbal Education vs. Vaginal PalpationTraining vs. Perineometer Training.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Trial
- Acute Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Pelvic Floor Muscle Function in Young Healthy Women: Initial Findings of a Randomized Controlled Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2024Trial
- Effect of Vaginal Palpation on Voluntary Pelvic Floor Muscle Performance During Early Motor Learning in Women with Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI): A Randomized Controlled Trial.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Rehabilitative Ultrasound Imaging as Visual Biofeedback in Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: A Narrative Review.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2026Review
- Which Positions Optimize Pelvic Floor Activation in Female Athletes?Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Digital Care Program for Urinary Incontinence in Females: A Large-Scale, Prospective, Cohort Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Bladder Base Displacement during Abdominal Muscles Contraction and Functional Activities in Primiparous Women Assessed by Transabdominal Ultrasound: A Descriptive Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Article
- Urinary Incontinence in Competitive Women Powerlifters: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Sports medicine - open · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introduction and hypothesisMany women with pelvic floor dysfunction are unable to perform pelvic floor muscle (PFM) contraction. We aimed to assess the ability to contract the PFM and to evaluate the association with muscle function in Brazilian women with urinary incontinence.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including incontinent women over the age of 18. The assessment of PFM contraction was carried out by bidigital palpation via the PERFECT scheme. We categorized our population as: group absent: women not able to contract the PFM with verbal instructions; group 1 (1st command): women able to contract their PFM after verbal instructions; group 2 (2nd command): women who needed additional training on PFM anatomy and functioning to contract them. We compared the groups regarding their PFM functionality. We used ANOVA for demographic data and Mann-Whitney test for association analyses and P value < 0.05 for statistical significance.
resultsAmong 139 women included, 21 (15.1%) were not able to perform the contraction of the PFM. Sixty-five (46.7%) contracted their PFM voluntarily at the first command and 53 (38.1%) at the second command. There was a significant reduction in the PFM function in group 2 in terms of power (p < 0.001), endurance (p < 0.001) and fast contraction (p < 0.001) compared to group 1.
conclusionA high percentage (53.2%) of women were not able to contract their PFM voluntarily without training in PFM anatomy and functioning. Those women had impaired muscle function compared to women able to perform PFM after receiving exclusively oral instructions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
32725368What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.