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Structural and functional changes induced by pelvic floor muscle training in women with stress urinary incontinence

Dr. Linda McLean

Professor, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa

Adjunct Professor, School of Rehabilitation Therapy, Queen's University

January 30, 2015 12:00 - 13:00

Tory Building Room 202, Carleton University

 

abstract

In this talk I will discuss a recently completed study in which we determined the effectiveness of a 12-week pelvic floor muscle (PFM) exercise program on changing urethral morphology and mobility in women with complaints of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). In doing so, I will discuss the use of static ultrasound imaging to evaluate structure and dynamic imaging to evaluate function, and the engineering challenges of automating such approaches for the development of a clinically useful tool.

biography

Linda McLean is a Full Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. She received her BSc in Physiotherapy from McGill University in 1990, and her MSc (Electrical Engineering) and PhD (Interdisciplinary studies in Biomedical Engineering) in 1995 and1998 respectively from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. She has recently moved from Queen's University where she was full professor in the Physical Therapy program and Chair of the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Her research work sits at the interface between health sciences and engineering, where she studies chronic muscle disorders using mechanical and neurophysiological assessment approaches. Her work mainly informs women's health issues such as pelvic floor muscle function and dysfunction, and pregnancy related neuromusculoskeletal issues. Dr. McLean is an Associate Editor of the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation and is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology. She is a member and past chair of the Women's Health Division of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. She currently supervises 5 PhD students at Queen's University and 1 MSc student in Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa.