Clinical assessment of pelvic floor and abdominal muscles 3 months post partum: an inter-rater reliability study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Evaluation of the inter-rater reliability of clinical assessment methods for pelvic floor muscles and diastasis recti abdominis post partum.

Design

A multicentre inter-rater reliability study.

Setting

Three primary care rehabilitation centres in Sweden.

Participants

A total of 222 participants were recruited via advertising at Swedish maternity care units and social media. Eligibility for participation included female gender, ≥18 years, at maximum 3 months after childbirth. Exclusion criteria were chronic pelvic girdle pain and/or low back pain and/or pelvic floor tear grade III/IV. At each centre, 2 physiotherapists, with training and experience in pelvic floor assessment, assessed the 222 women according to a standardised protocol in random order.<

SUBMITTER: Vesting S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8413957 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature