Throughout my years of practice I’ve treated many women with vulvodynia. I’ve noticed that it’s rare for women to return to 100% solely with physical therapy treatment; even though their musculoskeletal impairments may have returned to normal, some women continue to feel pain. In my experience, it takes a team of practitioners to treat vulvodynia, such as a physician who specializes in vulvar pain, a pelvic floor physical therapist, and a psychologist.
When I first looked through the schedule of the 3rd World Congress on Abdominal and Pelvic Pain for October 2017, I was excited to see that there was a session on vulvar pain and a talk scheduled for Caroline F. Pukall, Ph.D, entitled “Vulvodynia: A Biopsychosocial Approach.” Dr. Pukall is a professor of Psychology and the director of Sex Therapy Service at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. In 2015, Stephanie wrote a blog post on the International Consensus Conference on Vulvodynia Nomenclature. Dr. Pukall was one of the 28 participants in this consensus meeting. She is well versed in the terminology of vulvodynia. Her presentation turned out to be every bit as interesting as I hoped it would be: she discussed the terminology of vulvodynia, the biopsychosocial indicators for vulvodynia, and the various levels of pathophysiology of vulvodynia. She also came to the conclusion that treatment for vulvodynia needed to include doctors, physical therapists, and psychologists.
Vulvodynia is diagnosed as pain in the vulva for more than three months without an identifiable cause. However, there is a difference between vulvodynia and persistent vulvar pain: Dr. Pukall states persistent vulvar pain has an identifiable cause, such as an infection, inflammation, neoplasm (tissue grow such as a tumor), neurological, traumatic, iatrogenic (caused by a medical procedure), and/or hormonal cause. Vulvodynia is diagnosed by exclusion of these causes.
Within vulvodynia, there are many subgroups of the pain. It can be localized to one area, generalized throughout the vulva, or a mixture of the two. It can be provoked, such as with sexual intercourse, spontaneous, or both. The pain can be constantly there or intermittent. The onset of pain may be primary, meaning the pain was always there to begin with, or it can be secondary, meaning it developed later on. Dr. Pukall pointed out an important fact in her talk, which is that a patient can have vulvar pain from a specific disorder, such as lichen sclerosus, at the same time as having vulvodynia. This is important for us to keep in mind when treating vulvar pain.
As Dr. Pukall pointed out, its complex and patient-specific causes and features mean that treating vulvodynia is not simple and clear cut. It’s important to address all contributing factors; the biological, psychological, and social elements. The biological components of vulvodynia include hormonal changes, inflammation, genetics, comorbidities (such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, etc. ), and musculoskeletal, neurological, structural symptoms – all the physical things that are happening in the pelvic area, that one might expect to provide clues as to how to treat the condition. Just as important, though, are the psychological contributing factors to vulvar pain. These include mood, behavior, and self-perception. Dr. Pukall discussed how anxiety and avoidance are associated with decreased sexual function, and how hypervigilance, catastrophizing, and fear of pain can all cause increased pain. According to Dr. Pukall, women with lower “self-efficacy” (one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed) tend to have increased pain and poorer sexual function.
The last part of Dr. Pukall’s “biopsychosocial approach” refers to social factors that contribute towards vulvodynia – that is, things going on with the people around you that can feed into your pain. These social factors include problematic arousal, low desire, attachment, intimacy, communication, emotional expression, goals, abuse, and partner responses. A partner who suggests stopping all sexual activity may actually be causing more harm than good. This response can cause increased pain and lower couple sexual wellbeing. Having a partner who encourages adaptive coping and expresses positive feeling about engaging in any sexual activity, not penetrative sex, tends to bring benefits for both members of the couple. Pain seems to be modulated by the partner’s response to pain.
The take-home message for the practitioners in the audience was that the pathophysiology of vulvodynia includes pain, musculoskeletal, psychological, social, and interpersonal factors, and that the treatment for vulvodynia should include a medical doctor, a physical therapist, and a psychologist. I came out of the lecture hall determined to pass on Dr. Pukall’s message. In fact, looking at Dr Pukall’s list, I can’t help thinking that a biopsychosocial approach to vulvodynia could probably do us all a power of good!
We thank Dr. Caroline Pukall for a fantastic lecture. You can view her powerpoint lecture here. Please scroll down to page 155. You can also follow Dr. Pukall on Twitter at @QSexLab.
FAQ
What are pelvic floor muscles?
The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that run from the coccyx to the pubic bone. They are part of the core, helping to support our entire body as well as providing support for the bowel, bladder and uterus. These muscles help us maintain bowel and bladder control and are involved in sexual pleasure and orgasm. The technical name of the pelvic floor muscles is the Levator Ani muscle group. The pudendal nerve, the levator ani nerve, and branches from the S2 – S4 nerve roots innervate the pelvic floor muscles. They are under voluntary and autonomic control, which is a unique feature only they possess compared to other muscle groups.
What is pelvic floor physical therapy?
Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized area of physical therapy. Currently, physical therapists need advanced post-graduate education to be able to help people with pelvic floor dysfunction because pelvic floor disorders are not yet being taught in standard physical therapy curricula. The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center provides extensive training for our staff because we recognize the limitations of physical therapy education in this unique area.
What happens at pelvic floor therapy?
During an evaluation for pelvic floor dysfunction the physical therapist will take a detailed history. Following the history the physical therapist will leave the room to allow the patient to change and drape themselves. The physical therapist will return to the room and using gloved hands will perform an external and internal manual assessment of the pelvic floor and girdle muscles. The physical therapist will once again leave the room and allow the patient to dress. Following the manual examination there may also be an examination of strength, motor control, and overall biomechanics and neuromuscular control. The physical therapist will then communicate the findings to the patient and together with their patient they establish an assessment, short term and long term goals and a treatment plan. Typically people with pelvic floor dysfunction are seen one time per week for one hour for varying amounts of time based on the severity and chronicity of the disease. A home exercise program will be established and the physical therapist will help coordinate other providers on the treatment team. Typically patients are seen for 3 months to a year.
What is pudendal neuralgia and how is it treated?
Pudendal Neuralgia is a clinical diagnosis that means pain in the sensory distribution of the pudendal nerve. The pudendal nerve is a mixed nerve that exits the S2 – S4 sacral nerve roots, we have a right and left pudendal nerve and each side has three main trunks: the dorsal branch, the perineal branch, and the inferior rectal branch. The branches supply sensation to the clitoris/penis, labia/scrotum, perineum, anus, the distal ⅓ of the urethra and rectum, and the vulva and vestibule. The nerve branches also control the pelvic floor muscles. The pudendal nerve follows a tortuous path through the pelvic floor and girdle, leaving it vulnerable to compression and tension injuries at various points along its path.
Pudendal Neuralgia occurs when the nerve is unable to slide, glide and move normally and as a result, people experience pain in some or all of the above-mentioned areas. Pelvic floor physical therapy plays a crucial role in identifying the mechanical impairments that are affecting the nerve. The physical therapy treatment plan is designed to restore normal neural function. Patients with pudendal neuralgia require pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from medical management that includes pharmaceuticals and procedures such as pudendal nerve blocks or botox injections.
What is interstitial cystitis and how is it treated?
Interstitial Cystitis is a clinical diagnosis characterized by irritative bladder symptoms such as urinary urgency, frequency, and hesitancy in the absence of infection. Research has shown the majority of patients who meet the clinical definition have pelvic floor dysfunction and myalgia. Therefore, the American Urologic Association recommends pelvic floor physical therapy as first-line treatment for Interstitial Cystitis. Patients will benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from pharmacologic management or medical procedures such as bladder instillations.
Who is the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Team?
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center was founded by Elizabeth Akincilar and Stephanie Prendergast in 2006, they have been treating people with pelvic floor disorders since 2001. They were trained and mentored by a medical doctor and quickly became experts in treating pelvic floor disorders. They began creating courses and sharing their knowledge around the world. They expanded to 11 locations in the United States and developed a residency style training program for their employees with ongoing weekly mentoring. The physical therapists who work at PHRC have undergone more training than the majority of pelvic floor physical therapists and as a result offer efficient and high quality care.
How many years of experience do we have?
Stephanie and Liz have 24 years of experience and help each and every team member become an expert in the field through their training and mentoring program.
Why PHRC versus anyone else?
PHRC is unique because of the specific focus on pelvic floor disorders and the leadership at our company. We are constantly lecturing, teaching, and staying ahead of the curve with our connections to medical experts and emerging experts. As a result, we are able to efficiently and effectively help our patients restore their pelvic health.
Do we treat men for pelvic floor therapy?
The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is unique in that the Cofounders have always treated people of all genders and therefore have trained the team members and staff the same way. Many pelvic floor physical therapists focus solely on people with vulvas, this is not the case here.
Do I need pelvic floor therapy forever?
The majority of people with pelvic floor dysfunction will undergo pelvic floor physical therapy for a set amount of time based on their goals. Every 6 -8 weeks goals will be re-established based on the physical improvements and remaining physical impairments. Most patients will achieve their goals in 3 – 6 months. If there are complicating medical or untreated comorbidities some patients will be in therapy longer.