Britt Stuge, Siv Mørkved, Haldis Haug Dahl and Nina Vøllestad
Approximately 5–20% of postpartum women suffer from long-lasting pelvic girdle pain (PGP). The aim of this study was to examine whether subjects with and without persisting PGP and disability differed with respect to their ability to voluntarily contract the deep abdominals and to the strength of the pelvic floor muscles. The function of these muscle groups was assessed in twenty subjects, 12 with persisting PGP, 8 recovered from PGP. The results showed no statistical significant difference between the groups in increase of muscle thickness of the deep abdominal muscles or regarding PFM strength. The authors conclude that the ability to voluntarily contract the deep abdominal muscles and the strength of the pelvic floor muscles are apparently not associated to PGP.
Manual Therapy, Volume 11, Issue 4,