| Description |
Pelvic floor disorders (PFD) affect 1 in 4 women with moderate to severe symptoms. Pelvic floor function has been widely studied in parous women, yet less is known about factors that may impact pelvic floor health in nulliparous women. Current and previous participation in strenuous physical activity has been cited as a potential contributing factor to pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and urinary incontinence (UI) in nulliparous women. Decreased pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS) has been linked to PFD. We sought to (1) examine the difference in maximal vaginal descent (MVD) and PFMS between women who habitually perform strenuous exercise (SE) versus women who refrain from performing strenuous exercise (NSE), (2) to examine the difference in MVD and PFMS after an acute bout of strenuous (in SE) or nonstrenuous (in NSE) activity, and (3) to develop an exploratory prediction equation to identify predictors of PFMS in healthy nulliparous women. Seventy healthy nulliparous women aged 18-35 yrs participated in the study (n=35 SE group, n=35 NSE group). Participants completed a test battery including anthropometric measures, behavioral measures, physical activity recall, appendicular muscle strength, and MVD, and PFMS by focused pelvic exam. Participants performed a bout of exercise and repeated PFMS and MVD measures. MVD and PFMS were not different between SE and NSE women before exercise. After a bout of typical exercise, PFMS was maintained and pelvic floor support (MVD) decreased slightly in both groups. PFMS was unable to be predicted through anthropometric, behavioral, historical physical activity loads, and leg and arm muscular strength variables. No individual variable or group of variables for PFMS were identified as predictors of PFMS. After a typical exercise bout, vaginal support decreased slightly in both SE and NSE women, suggesting muscle fatigue or connective tissue laxity after exercise. However, based on pre-exercise measures between groups, chronic strenuous exercise demonstrated neither beneficial nor deleterious effects on pelvic floor strength or support. It cannot be assumed that those with high arm or leg strength will have high PFMS. Targeted PFM strengthening, rather than general muscle fitness, may be needed to maximize PFMS. |
