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Contraction techniques adopted for pelvic floor muscle exercise education by Nigeria-based physiotherapists: A preliminary study

Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate contraction techniques adopted for pelvic floor muscle (PFM) exercise education and their perceived efficacies among physiotherapists in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and eight conveniently selected physiotherapists in various clinical specialties, working in different hospitals across Nigeria, responded to a structured questionnaire that investigated contraction techniques adopted for PFM exercise education and their perceived efficacies. The data was analyzed with the SPSS software version 20.0 at P = 0.5. Results: 111 male and 97 female physiotherapists (mean age of 34.2 ± 10.3 years) participated in this study. “Imagination of urinating and suddenly interrupting urine flow” (85.9%) and “gripping of therapist's fingers or vaginal electrodes with the vagina” (44.6%) were the commonly utilized contraction techniques. “Imagination of urinating and suddenly interrupting urine flow” (28.8%) and “imagination of gripping the penis with the vagina” (26.4%) were perceived as the most effective methods by the physiotherapists while “imagination of releasing flatus while attempting to obscure its sound” (0.96%) emerged as the least effective methods. Conclusion: “Imagination of urinating and suddenly interrupting urine flow” is the most common contraction technique utilized for PFM education by Nigerian physiotherapists as well as the perceived most effective method, as compared to others.