Pelvic Floor Muscle Activity, Quality of Life, and Sexual Function in Peri- and Recently Postmenopausal Women With and Without Dyspareunia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Pelvic floor alterations during menopausal years, resulting from aging and hormonal decline, may lead to several forms of sexual dysfunction. Dyspareunia—pain during sexual intercourse—is among the most frequent. Nevertheless, few studies so far have evaluated pelvic floor muscle function in postmenopausal women with dyspareunia. The authors thus carried out a cross-sectional study to assess myoelectric activity in pelvic floor muscles in peri- and postmenopausal women with and without dyspareunia receiving routine care at an outpatient clinic. In addition, sexual function (using the Female Sexual Function Index) and quality of life (using the Cervantes Scale) were assessed. Fifty-one peri- and postmenopausal women between 45 to 60 years of age (M = 52.1, SD = 4.9) were evaluated, 27 with and 24 without dyspareunia. There were no statistically significant differences in resting muscle activity, maximal voluntary contraction, and sustained contraction between women with and without dyspareunia. There were ...