TY - JOUR
T1 - Does Muscle Pain Induce Alterations in the Pelvic Floor Motor Unit Activity Properties in Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome? A High-Density sEMG-Based Study
AU - Albaladejo-Belmonte, Monica
AU - Houston, Michael
AU - Dias, Nicholas
AU - Spitznagle, Theresa
AU - Lai, Henry
AU - Zhang, Yingchun
AU - Garcia-Casado, Javier
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Several studies have shown interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), a chronic condition that poses challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, is associated with painful pelvic floor muscles (PFM) and altered neural drive to these muscles. However, its pathophysiology could also involve other alterations in the electrical activity of PFM motor units (MUs). Studying these alterations could provide novel insights into IC/BPS and help its clinical management. This study aimed to characterize PFM activity at the MU level in women with IC/BPS and pelvic floor myalgia using high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG). Signals were recorded from 15 patients and 15 healthy controls and decomposed into MU action potential (MUAP) spike trains. MUAP amplitude, firing rate, and magnitude-squared coherence between spike trains were compared across groups. Results showed that MUAPs had significantly lower amplitudes during contractions on the patients’ left PFM, and delta-band coherence was significantly higher at rest on their right PFM compared to controls. These findings suggest altered PFM tissue and neuromuscular control in women with IC/BPS and pelvic floor myalgia. Our results demonstrate that HD-sEMG can provide novel insights into IC/BPS-related PFM dysfunction and biomarkers that help identify subgroups of IC/BPS patients, which may aid their diagnosis and treatment.
AB - Several studies have shown interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), a chronic condition that poses challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, is associated with painful pelvic floor muscles (PFM) and altered neural drive to these muscles. However, its pathophysiology could also involve other alterations in the electrical activity of PFM motor units (MUs). Studying these alterations could provide novel insights into IC/BPS and help its clinical management. This study aimed to characterize PFM activity at the MU level in women with IC/BPS and pelvic floor myalgia using high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG). Signals were recorded from 15 patients and 15 healthy controls and decomposed into MU action potential (MUAP) spike trains. MUAP amplitude, firing rate, and magnitude-squared coherence between spike trains were compared across groups. Results showed that MUAPs had significantly lower amplitudes during contractions on the patients’ left PFM, and delta-band coherence was significantly higher at rest on their right PFM compared to controls. These findings suggest altered PFM tissue and neuromuscular control in women with IC/BPS and pelvic floor myalgia. Our results demonstrate that HD-sEMG can provide novel insights into IC/BPS-related PFM dysfunction and biomarkers that help identify subgroups of IC/BPS patients, which may aid their diagnosis and treatment.
KW - coherence
KW - high-density surface electromyography
KW - interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome
KW - motor unit
KW - pelvic floor muscles
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85211808671&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/s24237417
DO - 10.3390/s24237417
M3 - Article
C2 - 39685954
AN - SCOPUS:85211808671
SN - 1424-8220
VL - 24
JO - Sensors (Switzerland)
JF - Sensors (Switzerland)
IS - 23
M1 - 7417
ER -