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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1514157
This article is part of the Research Topic Women in Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology View all articles

Strengths of pelvic floor muscles in women with Multiple Sclerosis and its relationship with urinary incontinence and quality of life

Provisionally accepted
Poorandokht Afshari Poorandokht Afshari Parvin Abedi Parvin Abedi *Nastaran Majdinasab Nastaran Majdinasab Samaneh Tafakh Samaneh Tafakh Mohammadhossein Haghighizadeh Mohammadhossein Haghighizadeh
  • Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that mostly affects women.Objectives: In this study we evaluated the relationship of pelvic muscle strengths with urinary incontinence and quality of life in women with MS.In this cross-sectional study 87 women with MS were recruited.Data collected using a demographic questionnaire, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF), and Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL-SF-36). A perineometer was used to measure the strengths of pelvic muscle. Data analyzed using Pearson correlation test, and multiple linear regression tests.Results: There was a positive correlation between pelvic muscle strengths with all domains of quality of life except for body pain and role limitations due to emotional problems. A significant inverse correlation was found between urinary incontinence and all domains of quality of life except for body pain. Also, an inverse correlation was also found between muscle strength and urinary incontinence (r=-.838, p<.001). A one-unit increase in the quality of physical life was associated with a 0.15-unit increase in the strengths of pelvic floor muscles (P = 0.035). On the other hand, each additional year of marriage or disease duration significantly weakened pelvic floor muscles by 0.24 and 0.509 units, respectively (P < 0.05).Our findings showed that pelvic muscle strength, urinary incontinence, and quality of life were significantly interrelated among female patients with MS. An inverse correlation was also found between muscle strength and urinary incontinence. Duration of marriage and length of MS disease were inversely associated with the strength of the pelvic floor muscles. Health providers are recommended to educate MS patients on the importance of pelvic muscle strengths.

    Keywords: Multiple Sclerosis, Pelvic Muscle Strengths, Urinary Incontinence, Quality of Life, Reproductive age

    Received: 20 Oct 2024; Accepted: 27 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Afshari, Abedi, Majdinasab, Tafakh and Haghighizadeh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Parvin Abedi, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

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