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Assessment of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction Using High Density Surface EMG

Speaker
Nick Dias
Date
Location
University of Houston
Abstract
Interstitial cystitis/Bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) negatively effects the life of as many as 8
million women in the United States. Symptoms of IC/BPS include voiding dysfunction, pain
while urinating, and pelvic floor dysfunction (predominately hyperactivity). Up to 85% of
women with IC/BPS are afflicted with pelvic floor muscle (PFM) hypertonicity. Innervation
zone (IZ) targeted Botox injections have proven to alleviate symptoms, yet accurate injection
to the IZ is not assured using current techniques. There is a lack of a technique to 1) noninvasively
assess spatial hypertonicity patterns in the PFMs and 2) map the IZs of the PFMs.
This seminar will discuss the application of high-density surface electromyographic techniques
to develop IZ distributions and compare PFM activity in healthy controls, and in women with
IC/BPS.