Investigation of pelvic FLOOR muscle function, respiratory muscle strength, core stabilization and endurance in women with and without urinary incontinence

The aim of this study was to examine pelvic floor muscle function, respiratory muscle strength, core stabilization and endurance in women with and without urinary incontinence. A total of 69 women, 48 with urinary incontinence and 21 without urinary incontinence, participated in the study. Urinary Distress Inventory-6 and Global Pelvic Floor Discomfort Questionnaire (GPFDQ) were used to evaluate urinary incontinence complaints of women. The pelvic floor muscle function (PFM-F) of the women were evaluated with the Myomed 632 Biofeedback device, the respiratory muscle strength was evaluated with the maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) measurement and the maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) measurement, and the core muscle endurance and stabilization were evaluated with the Sahrmann core stabilization and Sorenson tests. PFM-F, MIP and MEP values of women with and without urinary incontinence were found to be similar (p>0.05). Core muscle endurance (p<0.001) and stabilization (p=0.015) were found to be better in women without urinary incontinence than in women with urinary incontinence. It was found that there was no relationship between PFM-F and core endurance and stabilization in women with and without urinary incontinence (p>0.05). In addition, no correlation was found between PFM-F and respiratory muscle strength in women with and without urinary incontinence (p>0.05). There was no correlation between MIP and MEP values and core muscle endurance and stabilization in both groups (p>0.05). As a result of this study, it was seen that women without urinary incontinence had better core muscle endurance and stabilization than women with urinary incontinence. We think that this situation may shed light on the relationship between the pelvic floor and core muscles. Therefore, in future studies, we suggest that the relationship of the pelvic floor with the core muscles should be examined in more detail and exercise programs should be created in this direction.