Pelvic floor stimulation: what are the good vibrations?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine if two different whole body vibration, sinusoidal vibration (SV) and stochastic resonance vibration (SRV), using various intensities lead to a reactive activation of pelvic floor muscles.


METHODS
We compared the pelvic floor muscle response of a healthy control group with that of a post partum group with weakened pelvic floor contraction. Activation effects of stochastic resonance vibration and sinusoidal vibration with six increasing vibration intensities were investigated using pelvic floor EMG and compared to activity during rest and maximum voluntary contraction.


RESULTS
Both whole body vibration systems were able to activate pelvic floor muscles significantly depending on vibration intensity. Generally, the SRV achieved a significantly higher activation than maximum voluntary contraction, especially in women post partum and using a frequency of 6-12 Hz.


CONCLUSIONS
SRV, compared to SV, leads to higher pelvic floor muscle activation in subjects with weakened pelvic floor muscles and achieves higher pelvic floor activation than maximum voluntary contraction alone. Neurourol. Urodynam. 28:405-410, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lauper
Monika
M
Physiotherapy Research, University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Kuhn
Annette
A
Gerber
Regina
R
Luginbühl
Helena
H
Radlinger
Lorenz
L
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*