title: Muscle function of the pelvic floor in healthy, puerperal women with pelvic floor dysfunction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To understand the function of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) at different ages in healthy women and in puerperal women with pelvic floor dysfunctions (PFD) and to ascertain whether there are differences among them.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between June 2014 and September 2016 and included 177 women, 70 of whom had no symptoms of PFD, 53 primiparous mothers in late postpartum and 54 with PFD. The function of the PFM was measured through vaginal palpation (quality of the contraction); manometry (force); dynamometer (tone, strength, and response to stretching), and surface electromyography (neuromuscular activity and resistance).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The healthy women showed superior values for PFM tone, maximum strength, neuromuscular activity and resistance than the puerperal mothers and the women with PFD (P<.01). The puerperal women and those with PFD showed similar functional PFM values (P>.05). The muscle function of the healthy women did not vary significantly with age, except in the case of tone, which was lower in the women older than 46 years (P=.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age and births decrease the baseline tone of the PFM in healthy women. Therefore, lower strength, resistance and neuromuscular activity appear to be the main difference between the PFM of women with PFD and the PFM of healthy women.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación Fisioterapia en los Procesos de Salud de la Mujer, Unidad Docente de Fisioterapia, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Castro-Pardiñas
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación Fisioterapia en los Procesos de Salud de la Mujer, Unidad Docente de Fisioterapia, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España. Electronic address: fisioterapia.mujer@uah.es.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torres-Lacomba
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación Fisioterapia en los Procesos de Salud de la Mujer, Unidad Docente de Fisioterapia, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Navarro-Brazález
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D059952:Pelvic Floor Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fuerza muscular; Muscle resistance; Muscle strength; Muscle tone; Pelvic floor; Periodo posparto; Postpartum; Resistencia muscular; Suelo pélvico; Tono muscular