title: Relationship between lower limb position and pelvic floor muscle surface electromyography activity in menopausal women: a prospective observational study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In physiotherapeutic practice, special attention is being given to the reciprocal anatomical, physiological, and biomechanical relationship of the pelvis and the structures connected to it. However, the scientific literature shows mainly the theoretical information about their mutual connections. The lack of information about these relations from a practical aspect coupled with the paucity of scientific papers on the impact of posture changes on the pelvic floor led the authors to conduct this study. The primary aim of this study was to compare the resting and functional bioelectrical activities of pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) depending on three different positions of the lower limbs (positions A, B, and C) in the supine position.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a prospective observational study evaluating resting and functional activities of the PFM depending on the position of the lower limbs. The study was carried out at the Department and Clinic of Urology, University Hospital in Wroclaw, Poland and the target group were women in the menopausal period. Bioelectrical activity of PFM was recorded using a surface electromyographic instrument in the supine position. Results of the values obtained in A, B, and C positions were compared using a one-way analysis of variance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In position A, the average resting surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of PFM was 6.9±2.6 µV; in position B, the result was 6.9±2.5 µV and in position C, the resting sEMG activity was 5.7±1.8 µV (P=0.0102). The results of the functional bioelectrical activity of PFM were as follows: position A - 20.3±11.8 µV, position B - 19.9±10.6 µV, and position C - 25.3±10.9 µV (P=0.0104).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that in the supine position, the PFM achieved the lowest resting activity and the highest functional activity. Therefore, the supine position can be recommended for the diagnosis and therapy of weakened PFM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Opole Medical School, Opole.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Halski
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biomechanics and Physiotherapy in Motor System Disorders.
authors.forename: Kuba
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ptaszkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Opole Medical School, Opole.
authors.forename: Lucyna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Słupska
authors.affiliation: Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dymarek
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biomechanics and Physiotherapy in Motor System Disorders.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paprocka-Borowicz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000502:physiology*; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000502:physiology*; D011044:Poland; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology
keywords: menopause; pelvic floor muscles; surface electromyography; synergistic muscle