Chronic pelvic pain: gynaecological and non-gynaecological causes and considerations for nursing care

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is one of the most difficult problems encountered by health professionals, and it is a very common gynaecological complaint in women of reproductive age. Any structure in the abdomen and/or pelvis could have a role in aetiology of CPP. The aetiology, however, is often unclear and the origin seems can be multifactorial. A multidisciplinary team can offer simultaneous assessment and management of somatic, behavioural and psychosocial components of the pain, and the nurse as an integral member of the healthcare team has an important role to play in ensuring effective care provision. The purpose of this review is to present comprehensive and contemporary information about the gynaecological and non-gynaecological causes of CPP alongside an examination of the role of the nurse in caring for women who experience this problem

Effects of Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation Therapy on Chronic Pelvic Pain

Objective: This research is a prospective study which was designed to determine the effects of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) therapy on the quality of life and sexual life of patients with chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Methods:The sample consisted of an experimental group (n = 12) and a control group (n = 12), in total 24 patients. The experimental group was treated with PTNS once a week (in total 12 sessions), while the control group received routine intervention. Results: The pain frequency and intensity in women who underwent PTNS decreased considerably. Women had less pain during sexual intercourse after PINS. We determined in our study that PINS improved the quality of life of women with CPP by decreasing the intensity of pain and contributed to a more comfortable performance of their daily activities. Conclusions: PTNS is a type of treatment which contributes to the quality of life of women with CPP by decreasing the intensity of pain. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Sexual function and urinary incontinence complaints and other urinary tract symptoms of perimenopausal Turkish women

Urinary incontinence (UI) and other lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) which are quite common among women, have a significant level of impact on women's sexual function. Improving sexual function improves the quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between UI complaints with comorbid LUTS and sexual functions in Turkish women. The study is cross-sectional and descriptive. A total of 436 women was included in the study. Data were collected through Personal Information Form, The Bristol Female Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Questionnaire (BFLUTS) and The Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire (PISQ-12). The mean total of BFLUTS score was 31.99 +/- 11.46, while the mean total of PISQ-12 score was 28.72 +/- 6.92 in women. The most common symptoms were identified as storage and incontinence. There was a negative significant correlation between the total PISQ-12 scores and sub-dimension of BFLUTS scores (p < 0.01). Results of the study suggest that sexual function is negatively affected as the severity of symptoms increases

Coping strategies of women having chronic pelvic pain

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a very common health problem among women. Women's quality of life significantly decreases because they are affected by the nervousness and negativity caused by pain in their daily activities. The purpose of this study is to find out the features of pain experienced by women with CPP and identify the coping mechanisms used by them. This descriptive study was conducted in one state hospital and one university hospital. The participants are volunteer women who have had pain complaint in their pelvis/lower abdomen or genital area for 6months and/or more (n=134). Average age of the participants is 34.02 +/- 10.58; 28.6% of them (n=38) have had pain for more than 2years. Of all the participants, 42.9% described their pain as stabbing. The women were found to use pain killers (85.7%), sleep (46.6%), rest (46.6%), have a hot bath (34.6%) and massage (28.6%) with a view to reduce pain. The coping strategies used by the participants were identified as trying to think something else (27.8%), praying that the pain will not last long (38.3%), distracting attention by dealing with something else (32.3%), trying to feel better by ignoring pain (17.3%) and trying to heal pain by talking to themselves (16.5%). Women with CPP use both medical and spiritual methods with a view to cope with pain. It was found that use of pain killers increased with the increase in level of pain

Evaluation of women's sexual quality of life, depression, and sexual functions in the pregnancy and postpartum periods: A multi-centered study

Aim This multi-centered, longitudinal, and prospective study aims to identify women's sexual functions, sexual quality of life, and depression and their relationships with each other in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Methods The participating pregnant women (n = 113) were interviewed six times: once in each trimester, and once in the eighth week third month, and sixth month postpartum. This study was conducted in three regions of Turkey including Marmara, Mediterranean, and Central Anatolia regions. Data were collected through the "Socio-demographic Form," "Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)," Sexual Quality of Life-Female Questionnaire (SQLQ-F), and "Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D)." While the first interviews were administered face to face, successive ones were administered via phone. Results The sexual dysfunction rates of the participants were found to be high in the pregnancy and postpartum periods, and their sexual quality of life, which decreased as the pregnancy months progressed, was found to increase significantly with the progress in the postpartum period. The sexual dysfunction increased and sexual quality of life decreased significantly with the increase in depression symptoms in the pregnancy and postpartum periods. When the depressive symptoms decreased especially in the sixth month postpartum, sexual quality of life was also found to increase. Conclusions As a result, in the pregnancy and postpartum periods, it is highly important to provide women with diagnosis through a holistic approach by creating available environments to assess their psychological health and sexual functions and refer them to the related physicians when necessary