Pelvic floor muscle strength and sexual function in women

Abstract

Introduction : Pelvic floor (PF) muscles react to sexual stimuli with increased local blood circulation and involuntary contractions during orgasm. The training of the PF musculature helps in the improvement of the female sexual function. Objective : To verify the association between PF muscle strength and sexual function in women, controlling age and parity. Method : Cross-sectional study based on associations. The study included women who attended a reference center in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, for a uterine cancer smear test. The Functional Evaluation of the Pelvic Floor and the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire were used. Statistical procedures included Mann-Whitney U tests, Spearman correlation and Poisson Regression Analysis, with p < .05. Results : The mean age of the women (n = 177) was 39.05 years (SD = 13.3). Regarding PF function, 53.7% of participants presented weak or not palpable PF muscle function. Women with "good" muscle function (able to maintain contraction under examiner's resistance) had significantly better indexes of sexual desire, excitement, lubrication and orgasm than women with weak/poor function. We identified that 52.5% of the women presented sexual dysfunction. Women with "poor" PF function and aged over 50 years had, respectively, 1.36 (CI95% 1.01 - 1.82) and 1.77 (CI95% 1.41 - 2.23) higher prevalence of sexual dysfunction than women with "good" PF function. Conclusions : Adult women with better PF muscle function also presented better sexual function.

Relationship between pelvic floor muscle and sexual function in physically active older women

“…By contrast, a study in Belém, Pará state, Brazil assessing the possible relationship between female sexual function and the degree of PFM contraction in 20 to 40 year-old sexually active women indicated that the stronger the PFM contractions, the better the sexual function indices in healthy women [32]. Thus, women submitted to PFMT presented a significant improvement in sexual function scores on the FSFI questionnaire (in all domains and the total score) [24].…”

“…The levator ani, bulbocavernosus and ischiocavernosus muscles participate in female sexual response and function and they are responsible for the rhythmic and involuntary contractions that occur during orgasm. Thus, PFM function is an important attribute for female sexual function, as demonstrated in a study with women in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina state (SC), Brazil [24] Studies [25,26] suggest that PFM strength is related to sexual function, specifically orgasm and arousal. In this respect, women submitted to pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) show a significant improvement in FSFI dimensions and total score [27,28].…”

Fisioterapia nas disfunções do assoalho pélvico e na sexualidade durante o perí­odo gestacional

“…Sacomori et al [25] avaliaram a associação da força dos MAP versus função sexual e concluíram que as mulheres que apresentaram força muscular considerada boa, tiveram significativamente maior desejo, excitação, lubrificação e orgasmo, comparado as que apresentaram menos força nos MAP, corroborando a conclusão de Lunardon e Brondani [13] em outro estudo.…”