Register      Login
Sexual Health Sexual Health Society
Publishing on sexual health from the widest perspective
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Analysis of pelvic floor muscle electromyography parameters in women with or without sexual dysfunction

Chunyan Wang https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9725-8928 A , Yan Che A B , Yumei Zhang A , Tingfeng Guan A , Jie Wang A and Xinying Du https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2194-2409 A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A People’s Hospital of Weifang City, Weifang, Shandong Province, China.

B NHC Key Lab of Reproduction Regulation, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Reproductive Health Drug and Devices, Shanghai Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Technologies, Shanghai, China.

* Correspondence to: duxy2012@126.com

Handling Editor: Heather Armstrong

Sexual Health 21, SH24026 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH24026
Submitted: 2 November 2023  Accepted: 18 April 2024  Published: 14 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

To investigate the differences in pelvic floor muscle (PFM) electromyography (EMG) parameters between women with or without sexual dysfunction (FSD) and their correlations.

Methods

Women who voluntarily participated in a questionnaire-based survey on sexual function and underwent PFM EMG in Weifang People’s Hospital during the period from March 2021 to December 2021 were retrospectively enrolled. The female sexual (dys)function was measured using the Female Sexual Function Index. Glazer PFM EMG was performed using a Melander instrument (MLD A2 Deluxe). The differences in PFM EMG parameters between women with or without FSD were compared, and the relationships between PFM EMG parameters and FSD were analysed using multiple linear regression models.

Results

A total of 305 women were enrolled, with 163 in the FSD group and 142 in the non-FSD group. Comparisons of PFM EMG parameters between these two groups revealed that the FSD group had significantly higher peak EMG amplitude during the phasic (flick) contractions and shorter recovery latency during the tonic contractions than the non-FSD group (both P < 0.05). Multivariate linear regression suggested that the peak EMG amplitude during the phasic (flick) contractions was 5.39 μV higher in the FSD group than in the non-FSD group, whereas the recovery latency during the tonic contractions was 0.29 s shorter (both P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The results of the pelvic floor EMG in this study suggest that the pelvic floor muscles of women with FSD may be more susceptible to fatigue, and may have poorer coordination of their pelvic floor muscles.

Keywords: dysfunction, female, female sexual function index, pelvic floor, pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic floor muscle electromyography, sexual, sexual dysfunction.

References

Reed MA. Female sexual dysfunction. Clin Plast Surg 2022; 49: 495-504.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Pauls RN, Berman JR. Impact of pelvic floor disorders and prolapse on female sexual function and response. Urol Clin North Am 2002; 29: 677-683.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Verbeek M, Hayward L. Pelvic floor dysfunction and its effect on quality of sexual life. Sex Med Rev 2019; 7: 559-564.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

González-Izal M, Malanda A, Gorostiaga E, Izquierdo M. Electromyographic models to assess muscle fatigue. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012; 22: 501-512.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Rani GJ, Hashmi MF, Gupta A. Surface electromyography and artificial intelligence for human activity recognition—a systematic review on methods, emerging trends applications, challenges, and future implementation. IEEE Access 2023; 11: 105140-105169.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Oleksy Ł, Wojciechowska M, Mika A, Antos E, Bylina D, Kielnar R, Pruszczyński B, Stolarczyk A. Normative values for Glazer Protocol in the evaluation of pelvic floor muscle bioelectrical activity. Medicine 2020; 99: e19060.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Brækken IH, Stuge B, Tveter AT, Bø K. Reliability, validity and responsiveness of pelvic floor muscle surface electromyography and manometry. Int Urogynecol J 2021; 32: 3267-3274.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Martinez CS, Ferreira FV, Castro AAM, Gomide LB. Women with greater pelvic floor muscle strength have better sexual function. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2014; 93: 497-502.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Sartori DVB, Kawano PR, Yamamoto HA, Guerra R, Pajolli PR, Amaro JL. Pelvic floor muscle strength is correlated with sexual function. Investig Clin Urol 2021; 62: 79-84.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

10  Baytur YB, Deveci A, Uyar Y, Ozcakir HT, Kizilkaya S, Caglar H. Mode of delivery and pelvic floor muscle strength and sexual function after childbirth. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2005; 88: 276-280.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

11  Meston CM, Freihart BK, Handy AB, Kilimnik CD, Rosen RC. Scoring and interpretation of the FSFI: what can be learned from 20 years of use. J Sex Med 2020; 17: 17-25.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

12  Wiegel M, Meston C, Rosen R. The female sexual function index (FSFI): cross-validation and development of clinical cutoff scores. J Sex Marital Ther 2005; 31: 1-20.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

13  Koenig I, Luginbuehl H, Radlinger L. Reliability of pelvic floor muscle electromyography tested on healthy women and women with pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. Ann Phys Rehabil Med 2017; 60: 382-386.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

14  Marco G, Alberto B, Taian V. Surface EMG and muscle fatigue: multi-channel approaches to the study of myoelectric manifestations of muscle fatigue. Physiol Meas 2017; 38: R27-R60.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

15  Farina D, Enoka RM. Evolution of surface electromyography: From muscle electrophysiology towards neural recording and interfacing. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2023; 71: 102796.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

16  Fitts RH. Cellular mechanisms of muscle fatigue. Physiol Rev 1994; 74: 49-94.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

17  Li-Yun-Fong RJ, Larouche M, Hyakutake M, Koenig N, Lovatt C, Geoffrion R, Brotto LA, Lee T, Cundiff GW. Is pelvic floor dysfunction an independent threat to sexual function? A cross-sectional study in women with pelvic floor dysfunction. J Sex Med 2017; 14: 226-237.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

18  Pasqualotto L, Riccetto C, Biella AF, Marques J, Pereira LC, Alves FK, Lunardi ALB, de Vasconcelos Adami DB, Nagib A, Martinho N, et al. Impact of pelvic floor muscle strength on female sexual function: retrospective multicentric cross-sectional study. Int Urogynecol J 2022; 33: 1591-1599.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

19  Gameiro MO, Miraglia L, Gameiro LFO, Padovani CR, Amaro JL. Pelvic floor muscle strength evaluation in different body positions in nulliparous healthy women and its correlation with sexual activity. Int Braz J Urol 2013; 39: 847-852.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

20  Darski C, Barbosa LJF, Paiva LL, Vieira A. Association between the functionality of pelvic floor muscles and sexual satisfaction in young women. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet 2016; 38: 164-169.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

21  Glazer HI, Romanzi L, Polaneczky M. Pelvic floor muscle surface electromyography. Reliability and clinical predictive validity. J Reproduct Med 1999; 44: 779-782.
| Google Scholar | PubMed |

22  Mohktar MS, Ibrahim F, Mohd Rozi NF, Mohd Yusof J, Ahmad SA, Su Yen K, Omar SZ. A quantitative approach to measure women’s sexual function using electromyography: a preliminary study of the Kegel exercise. Med Sci Monit 2013; 19: 1159-1166.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

23  Hug F. Can muscle coordination be precisely studied by surface electromyography. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2011; 21: 1-12.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

24  Shafik A. The role of the levator ani muscle in evacuation, sexual performance and pelvic floor disorders. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct 2000; 11: 361-376.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

25  Neri I, Monari F, Valensise H, Vasapollo B, Facchinetti F, Volpe A. Computerized evaluation of fetal heart rate during tocolytic treatment: comparison between atosiban and ritodrine. Am J Perinatol 2009; 26: 259-263.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

26  Achtari C, Dwyer PL. Sexual function and pelvic floor disorders. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 2005; 19: 993-1008 quiz A1–8.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

27  Kingsberg SA, Simon JA. Female hypoactive sexual desire disorder: a practical guide to causes, clinical diagnosis, and treatment. J Womens Health 2020; 29: 1101-1112.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |