Functional assessment of the pelvic floor muscles by electromyography: is there a normalization in data analysis? A systematic review

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aims to evaluate the method of analysis of electromyographic data considering the functional assessment of pelvic floor muscles (PFM). We have included in our search strategy the following databases: Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PEDro, and IBECS, considering articles published in the last ten years (2004-2014). The identified articles were independently examined by two evaluators, according to these inclusion criteria: (1) population: female adults; (2) PFM assessment by electromyography (EMG) with vaginal/anal probe; and (3) description of how electromyographic data analysis is performed. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the risk of bias. We identified 508 articles, of which 23 were included in the review. The data showed differences between the collection protocols, and a significant number of studies did not normalize the electromyographic data. Physiotherapists are among the clinicians who most frequently use EMG to evaluate the function and dysfunction of the neuromuscular system. Although some previous studies have provided an overview to guide the evaluator in the assessment, few succeeding studies followed their recommendations.