The impact of delivery types on the activity of abdominal muscles in the test “Active Straight Leg Rise” conducted on women from 6 to 12 months after childbirth: A preliminary study

Objective: Pregnancy and giving birth can influence the area of the sacroiliac joints. Nowadays a lot of women, despite the lack of indications, make the decision to give a birth by caesarean section. Incision and possible complications such as fibrosis and adhesions may affect the function of abdominal muscles. Aim of the study was to compare the differences in activity of abdominal muscles in women after natural childbirth, cesarean section, and control group in Active Straight Leg Rise Test. Materials and methods: A total of 27 women were included into the study after completing the personal questionnaire and undergoing a functional examination. Surface electromyography was employed to assess the activity of the rectus abdominis muscles and internal abdominal oblique/transversus abdominis muscles bilaterally. After normalization test, patients were asked to perform The Active Straight Leg Rise Test three times to both sides. Results: Activity level for rectus abdominis muscle was similar on both sides of the body in tested groups. Activity level of internal abdominal oblique/transversus abdominis was significantly higher in the tested side but there are no important differences between groups. Conclusion: Transversus abdominis and internal abdominal oblique muscles play important role in stabilizing the sacroiliac area in Active Straight Leg Rise Test in contrary to rectus abdominis muscle and their level of activity is similar in each of the tested groups.