Is Pelvic Floor sEMG a Measure of Women's Sexual Response?

Introduction: Pelvic floor surface electromyography (sEMG) is often used in the assessment and treatment of individuals with pelvic floor abnormalities to measure muscle tone and neural control of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM); however, little is known about the role of the PFM in sexual arousal.

Aim: The aim of this pilot study was to examine whether changes in deep and superficial PFM activity-assessed with sEMG-can be observed during the presentation of sexual stimuli.

Methods: Deep PFM sEMG activity was assessed with a vaginal probe.

A comparison of demographic and psychosexual characteristics of women with primary versus secondary provoked vestibulodynia.

Objectives: Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a distressing genital pain condition affecting approximately 12% of premenopausal women. It has been speculated that primary (ie, lifelong) and secondary (ie, acquired) PVD may represent 2 distinct conditions with different etiologies. There is also evidence that primary and secondary PVD subtypes may respond differently to conventional treatments.