Effects of motor imagery and action observation on pelvic floor and related structures in healthy women: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The main aim was to assess the effects of motor imagery (MI) and action observation (AO) plus physical exercise (PE) on pelvic floor and related structures. Forty-four healthy women were randomized into three groups: MI, AO, or sham observation (SO) group. The outcome measures included the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) condition (including basal tone and strength), lumbo-pelvic motor control, and pain sensitivity. All women performed six sessions at the rate of 3 s/week (for 2 weeks). An initial assessment was carried out (T0), another one 1-week after starting the study (T1), and a third one at the end (T2). Results showed significant PFM strength gains in MI and AO groups, but not in the SO group. Regarding lumbo-pelvic motor control, both MI and AO groups obtained statistically significant changes between pre- and post-intervention Additionally, only the AO group showed significant improvements already at 1-week of intervention. Finally, all groups showed improved pain sensitivity in the likely area of referred menstrual pain post-intervention, with only the MI group showing changes 1 week after starting the intervention. In conclusion, results showed that adding MI and AO to PE program leads to an improvement of sensorimotor function of PFM and related structures in general. Despite finding no statistically significant inter-group differences, some findings such as strength gains or the lumbo-pelvic motor control improvements were only found in MI and AO groups, and this should be considered clinically.