Abstract
Aims
Vaginal surface electromyography (sEMG) is a tool used for the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of urinary incontinence. Current sEMG systems differ in regard to electrode arrangement and data reproducibility. The aim of this study was to determine the intrasession, intraday, and interday reliabilities of sEMG parameters using a probe with circumferential electrode-position.
Methods
The intrasession, intraday, and interday reliabilities of maximum isometric voluntary contractions (MVC) of the pelvic floor muscles were assessed for 19 healthy continent women. Three sEMG parameters that are used to describe muscle activity were verified: maximal EMG (EMGmax), mean over 500 ms around EMGmax (EMGA0.5), and mean over 2 seconds during MVC plateau (EMGA2-4). Relative and absolute reliability parameters were calculated, and the statistical methods described by Bland and Altman were applied to the data.
Results
We observed substantial reliabilities for all obtained parameters (EMGmax, EMGA2-4, and EMGA0.5) in regard to the intrasession measurements (ICC = 0.93-0.97; CI = 0.86-0.99). Overall, the intraday reliability has been moderate (ICC = 0.64-0.75; CI = 0.27-0.90). EMGmax (ICC = 0.75; CI = 0.45-0.90) and EMGA2-4 (ICC = 0.73, CI = 0.42-0.89) were higher than EMGA0.5 (ICC = 0.64; CI = 0.27-0.85). However, the interday reliability was only fair for EMGmax (ICC = 0.48; CI = 0.04-0.77) and EMGA0.5 (ICC = 0.51; CI = 0.07-0.78) but moderate for EMGA2-4 (ICC = 0.65; CI = 0.28-0.85).
Conclusions
This intrasession, intraday, and interday reliability results are similar to the results reported in the literature using probes with longitudinally oriented bars. The mean sEMG signal over 2 seconds (EMGA2-4) exhibited the highest reliability and is recommended for further studies. The interday reliability might be enhanced by considering the menstruation cycle.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).