Dynamic Balance Indices in women with and without Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) is one of the dysfunctions of the Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM), with descending of pelvic viscera, vaginal wall, uterus, bladder and rectum. Regarding the role of PFM as part of the core muscles in body balance, it has been suggested that women with PFM dysfunctions may have a lower level of balance. Therefore, this study was performed with aim to compare the level of dynamic balance in non-postmenopausal women with and without POP in two positions of full and empty bladder.

This cross-sectional comparative study was performed in 2018 on 30 non-pregnant married women in the Rehabilitation School of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The subjects were divided in to three groups (n=10 in each group): with symptomatic POP, asymptomatic POP and without POP. After collecting demographic information, the pelvic inclination angle, and the dynamic balance in Antero-Posterior, Medio-Lateral planes as well as total balance index were assessed. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version 22) and Kolmogorov-Smirnov, one-way ANCOVA and Fisher's exact test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

No significant differences were not found among three groups in terms of dynamic balance index with both full and empty bladder (p<0.05). Moreover, there were no significant differences among three groups regarding the pelvic inclination angle (p<0.05).

The association of POP as one of the dysfunctions of pelvic floor muscle is not confirmed by postural stability. Further studies using the motion analysis system and simultaneous recording of electrical muscle activity are recommended.