The objective was to establish a combination of factors (self-report and physical) predictive of PFMD in women with lumbopelvic pain.

Participants completed a battery of self-report and physical assessments (masked assessors). Three clinical findings characterized PFMD: weakness of the pelvic floor, lack of coordination of the pelvic floor, and pelvic floor muscle tenderness on palpation (bilateral obturator internus). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the extent to which different predictors were associated with PFMD.

One hundred eight women with self-reported lumbopelvic pain (within the past week) were included in the study (mean age＝40.4 years; SD＝12.6 years). None of the examined factors predicted pelvic floor muscle weakness. Two factors independently predicted pelvic floor muscle tenderness on palpation: very strong and/or uncontrollable urinary urges (OR＝2.93; 95% CI＝1.13－7.59) and Central Sensitization Inventory scores of 40 or greater (odds ratio＝3.13; 95% CI＝1.08－9.10)．

Women who have lumbopelvic pain, uncontrollable urinary urgency, and central sensitization were, on average, 2 times more likely to test positive for pelvic floor muscle tenderness on palpation. Further studies are needed to validate and extend these findings.