Is adding pelvic floor muscle training to an exercise intervention more effective at improving pain in patients with non-specific low back pain? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Pelvic floor muscles (PFM) contribute to optimal control of the lumbopelvic spine. PFM function appears altered in some people with nonspecific low back pain (LBP).

Objective: To systematically review if adding PFM training (PFMT) to another exercise intervention can be more effective at improving pain and function in people with nonspecific LBP than without PFMT.

Pelvic floor ultrasound imaging: are physiotherapists interchangeable in the assessment of levator hiatal biometry?

Purpose: To evaluate inter-examiner reliability in the ultrasound (US) assessment of levator hiatal dimensions when different physiotherapists perform independent data acquisition and analysis.

Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, 14 asymptomatic nulliparous women were imaged at rest, during pelvic floor muscle contraction, and during Valsalva manoeuvre by two physiotherapists using three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) transperineal US. Examiners each measured the dimensions of the levator hiatus (area and antero-posterior and transverse diameters) from the US volumes they respectively acquired.

Pelvic floor muscle training in women with stress urinary incontinence causes hypertrophy of the urethral sphincters and reduces bladder neck mobility during coughing.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 12-week pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training program on urethral morphology and mobility in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Methods: Forty women with SUI were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the treatment group received 12 weekly physiotherapy sessions during which they learned how to properly contract their pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) and a home exercise program was prescribed, reviewed, and progressed; the control group received no treatment. Before and after the 12-week study period, ultrasound imaging was used to evaluate bladder neck position and mobility during coughing and Valsalva maneuver in supine and in standing, as well as urethral morphology.

Survey of Canadian Physiotherapists: Entry-Level and Post-professional Education in Women's Health.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to identify (1) practice patterns of Canadian physiotherapists who consider themselves women's health providers or educators (WHPTs); (2) WHPTs' perception of the relative importance of entry-level and post-professional education curricular content directed at women's health issues; and (3) WHPTs' patterns and preferences with respect to continuing education.

Method: A survey link was sent via e-mail to all 429 members of the Women's Health Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association and to physiotherapist educators at the 14 Canadian physiotherapy programmes.

Results: A total of 114 WHPTs responded (27%), including 16 educators.

Pelvic floor muscle assessment outcomes in women with and without provoked vestibulodynia and the impact of a physical therapy program.

Introduction: Physical therapy (PT) may reduce the pain associated with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) based on previous findings that pelvic floor muscle dysfunction (PFMD) is associated with PVD symptoms.

Aims: The goals of this study were: (i) to determine whether women with and without PVD differ on measures of pelvic floor muscle (PFM) behavior; and (ii) to assess the impact of PT treatment for women with PVD on these measures.

Methods: Eleven women with PVD and 11 control women completed an assessment evaluating PFM behavior using surface electromyography (SEMG) recordings and a digital intravaginal assessment.

A prospective study of pelvic floor physical therapy: pain and psychosexual outcomes in provoked vestibulodynia.

Introduction: Research suggests that increased tension in the pelvic floor muscles of women with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD, the most common form of chronic vulvar pain) may play an important role in maintaining and exacerbating their pain. However, no prospective studies of pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) for PVD have been carried out.

Aim: This study prospectively examined the effectiveness of a PFPT intervention in treating the pain and sexual and psychological components of PVD, and determined predictors of greater treatment success.