ResearchGeneral gynecologyPhysical therapy evaluation of patients with chronic pelvic pain: a controlled study
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
Between August of 2005 and April of 2006, we recruited women to participate in a prospective study of physical therapy assessment of the pelvis, abdomen, back, and lower extremities to determine whether those women with CPP differed from healthy control subjects with regard to abnormal musculoskeletal findings. The primary null hypothesis was that women with CPP (longer than a 3-month duration) would not differ from healthy control subjects on a pelvic floor total tenderness score, as assessed
Results
A total of 20 control subjects and 19 cases participated in this study. One pelvic pain participant declined to have internal vaginal measures performed because of a history of sexual abuse but did allow all other measures to be performed. Women in both cohorts tended to be white, in their mid 30s, with a body mass index that resembled that of other US women in this age cohort.9 The duration of pelvic pain symptoms in cases had a median of 2 years (range, 0.5-30 years). Control subjects were
Comment
This study suggests that pelvic musculoskeletal abnormalities characterize many women with CPP. In particular, our primary hypothesis that composite pelvic floor tenderness (comprising the sum of pain scores over all pelvic floor sites) was higher among patients with pelvic pain was supported. Similarly, many more patients with CPP (75% vs 33%) had at least 1 positive pelvic floor finding, compared with control subjects. Statistically significant increases in the frequency of palpation-induced
Acknowledgment
We thank Ms Christine Mugo for assistance with patient recruitment.
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Reprints not available from the authors.
Supported by a grant from the Evanston Northwestern Women’s Healthcare Auxiliary Board (F. F. T.).
Cite this article as: Tu FF, Holt J, Gonzales J, Fitzgerald CM. Physical therapy evaluation of patients with chronic pelvic pain: a controlled study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2008;198:272.e1-272.e7.