Electromyography findings of pelvic floor muscles in patients with anorectal incontinence]

In the presented study the electromyographical signs of the sphincter muscle of 14 patients with incontinence of the faeces are described and compared with those of a group of continent controls. We found significant differences in the duration of the action potential, the average amplitude, the frequency of polarity turns and the integral of the curves. The application of automatic EMG-analysers allows exact differentiation between neurogenic and myogenic disturbances as well as conclusions about the functional integrity of the m. sphincter ani externus and m. puborectalis. The electromyography as a dynamic diagnostic method is a valuable enrichment of the equipment for diagnostic evaluation of the diseases of the pelvic floor. It will be of increasing importance in the differential diagnosis of the incontinence of the faeces and of pudendus nerve lesions as well as in any disease in which a denervation of the parietal or visceral muscles of the pelvic floor is involved.