The relationship between electromyographic activity and thickness alterations of lateral abdominal wall muscles during pelvic floor muscles contraction in healthy women

To asses relationship between abdominal muscles superficial Electromyography (EMG) and ultrasound measurement during Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM) contraction in healthy people. 15 healthy women participated in the study. Their abdominal muscles activation (transversus abdominis, internal oblique and external oblique muscles) was measured by EMG and sonography during maximal PFM contraction. Inter Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Standard Error Measurement (SEM) was used for reliability assessment and Pearson correlation coefficient to analyze data. EMG and ultrasound had high reliability to assess abdominal muscles activity during PFM contraction. Although increase in abdominal muscles EMG activity and muscles thickness changes in ultrasound imagine was showed but there was no significant relationship between EMG activity and changes in thickness of abdominal muscles(Transverse (r=0.31, P=0.10) Int Oblique (r=0.38, P=0.04) Ext Oblique (0.05, P=0.81). According to this study, EMG and Ultrasound were reliable methods to study abdominal muscles activity during PFM contraction but maybe we could not use them instead of each other, because there was not any significant relationship between them.