If you’ve been to a pelvic floor physio or a gyno for an internal assessment, you may have seen a fun little equation on your treatment notes. Let’s decode GH + PB and talk about WHY it’s important to know
And, don’t worry. I promise there’s no Algebra involved!
GH stands for genital hiatus and PB stands for perineal body (PB). And the GH + PB measurement is considered a great way to test whether a woman is at risk of pelvic organ prolapse (aka just ‘prolapse’).
Not only can this measurement help determine your risk, but it can track whether your treatment is helping to improve your prolapse and also help us understand whether you have a levator avulsion (which is a topic for another day).
Let’s break it down further.
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Genital hiatus (GH) – This is the distance from the urethral opening to the posterior vaginal opening or hymen. A larger GH may indicate laxity in the area.
Perineal body (PB) – This is the distance from the posterior of the hymen to the middle of the anus. The PB can be injured during vaginal birth (with tearing or episiotomies).
Measurement range – The GH measurement range is 1.5–8.5 cm, and the PB measurement range is 2.0–7 cm.
Measurement significance – Well, the GH measurement can help us understand whether there is any pelvic floor muscle damage! If you regularly see your physio, they might measure you at each session to determine whether the treatment they’ve prescribed is working.