Pelvic Floor EMG – Treatment, Effects & Risks
Pelvic floor EMG
A pelvic floor EMG is a method for diagnosing bladder emptying disorders. The function and activity of the muscles can be recorded and thus pathological changes can be detected.
What is the pelvic floor EMG?
Pelvic floor EMG is an electromyography of the pelvic floor muscles . Electromyography is considered an additional examination of uroflowmetry and is used to quantify and subsequently assess the pelvic floor muscles.
Uroflowmetry includes various examination methods for diagnosing bladder emptying disorders. During the examination using pelvic floor electromyography, muscle action potentials of the striated pelvic floor muscles and the sphincter muscles ( sphincter muscle ) are recorded. Muscle action potentials are electrical impulses triggered by muscle activity.
The recording of the muscle action potential is called an electromyogram . In addition to being used for diagnostics, this examination method can be used for therapeutic purposes with the appropriate additional equipment such as an acoustic amplifier or a screen. The focus here is on the so-called biofeedback training. This type of training serves to measure the function of the pelvic floor, which is usually not consciously perceptible, and to give the patient feedback. The patient can use this feedback to influence the measurement result and, for example, increase or decrease the muscle tension in the pelvic floor.
Function, effect & goals
A pelvic floor EMG is used to diagnose voiding disorders , stress incontinence, anal incontinence or constipation .
No contrast medium is used during pelvic floor electromyography to examine voiding disorders and therefore poses fewer risks than other examination methods. Stress incontinence , also known as so-called stress incontinence , is examined using a needle EMG. The EMG allows a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the micturition and a possible cause of the incontinence to be found. Furthermore, this diagnostic procedure is also used outside of urology in the field of anal incontinence in order to assess an anal dysfunction. In addition, it still occurs in proctologyused to investigate a possible pathological constipation (constipation).
The flow EMG procedure for assessing an existing voiding disorder is one of the most important screening procedures. It should always be noted that the micturition values vary depending on age and gender. Therefore, the patient ‘s medical history is very important in order to make a meaningful assessment.
In order to achieve an adequate result from the pelvic floor electromyography procedure, the correct positioning of the electrodes is particularly important. In order to derive the corresponding muscle action potentials, one adhesive electrode must be attached in the area of the anus and one as a grounding electrode (indifferential electrode) on the thigh. In the so-called needle pelvic floor EMG, no adhesive electrodes are used, but needle electrodes. These are placed directly in the tissue.
The muscle action potentials are recorded using a 2-channel recorder. During a voiding phase, this records a urine flow curve and the function of the pelvic floor muscles. A urological specialist can use these values and the patient’s medical history to make an assessment of the micturition behavior.
There are different methods of pelvic floor electromyography. In general, this procedure can be used to assess the entire striated musculature of the pelvic floor. However, a distinction is made between two possible applications. On the one hand there is the non-specific surface EMG and the simple surface EMG. This is usually sufficient for general assessments of a functional disorder. If specific examinations are to be carried out with the EMG, a rather complex needle EMG is carried out. This achieves specific and more meaningful results than the surface EMG. Although this procedure gives better results, it is rarely performed.
The reason for this is that it is much more painful and carries more risks. Nevertheless, in some cases a needle EMG is of great importance, since the spontaneous activity of the individual muscles is also recorded separately. This is advantageous when neurological dysfunction or scarring in the pelvic floor area is present or to be determined. Basically, the procedure of the pelvic floor EMGs as the sole examination is not meaningful enough to make a conclusive possible diagnosis.
The values vary too much due to the external circumstances, which not only affect the anamnesis (age, previous illnesses), but also the individual tissue structures and the predisposition in their function. Therefore, the EMG is considered to be one of the diagnostic methods used in uroflowmetry. As a sole examination, the results of electromyography are not sufficient enough and the assessment is therefore vague.
When assessing the measurement results, the specialist pays attention to the function of the urinary bladder . The physiological activity is observed by an increase in muscle tension parallel to the filling of the urinary bladder. Increased or insufficient activity of the urinary bladder are referred to as pathological. When the bladder is emptied, the sphincter muscles relax. This opens the sphincter and the urine can be drained. At this stage, an electromyogram should record minimal or, at best, no muscle action potential.
If other values are shown, this can be an indication of a pathological neurological finding. The pelvic floor muscles and the sphincter cannot be controlled with the corresponding neurological stimuli of the nerves .
Risks, side effects & dangers
In general, complications with the pelvic floor EMG only occur in very rare exceptional cases. Surface electromyography does not involve any risks or subsequent complications; skin irritations from the adhesive electrodes can very rarely occur, which quickly disappear with wound ointments.
In very rare cases, needle electromyography can cause complications. When the needle electrodes are placed in the tissue, nerves or blood vessels can be injured , but this occurs so rarely that it can almost be described as hypothetical.
Hello! I am Lisa Newlon, and I am a medical writer and researcher with over 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry. I have a Master’s degree in Medicine, and my deep understanding of medical terminology, practices, and procedures has made me a trusted source of information in the medical world.