Introduction and hypothesis: Interruption of urine flow during micturition has been used as an assessment of ability to voluntarily contract the pelvic floor muscles (PFM). However, the PFM are also activated during specific abdominal manoeuvres. This study aimed to assess the effect of similar abdominal manoeuvres on urine flow and compare this with the effect of PFM contraction.
Methods: Eight healthy women, of mixed parity, contracted the abdominal muscles and the PFM during urine flow on separate occasions. Differences in urine flow were compared using paired t tests.
Results: All participants were able to interrupt the urine stream using both muscle activation patterns. There was no difference in the time taken to interrupt urine flow (p = 0.78) between the two patterns.
Conclusions: These data provide evidence that specific abdominal muscle manoeuvres influence urethral closure in continent women, and this is probably mediated by concurrent activation of PFM during the abdominal task.