Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a novel cognitive-behavioral couple therapy for provoked vestibulodynia: a pilot study

Introduction Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD), a recurrent, localized vulvovaginal pain problem, carries a significant psychosexual burden for afflicted women, who report impoverished sexual function and decreased frequency of sexual activity and pleasure. Interpersonal factors such as partner responses to pain, partner distress, and attachment style are associated with pain outcomes for women and with sexuality outcomes for both women and partners. Despite these findings, no treatment for PVD has systematically included the partner. Aims This study pilot‐tested the feasibility and potential efficacy of a novel cognitive–behavioral couple therapy (CBCT) for couples coping with PVD. Methods Couples (women and their partners) in which the woman was diagnosed with PVD (N = 9) took part in a 12‐session manualized CBCT intervention and completed outcome measures pre‐ and post‐treatment. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measure was women's pain intensity during intercourse as measured on a numerical rating scale. Secondary outcomes included sexual functioning and satisfaction for both partners. Exploratory outcomes included pain‐related cognitions; psychological outcomes; and treatment satisfaction, feasibility, and reliability. Results One couple separated before the end of therapy. Paired t‐test comparisons involving the remaining eight couples demonstrated significant improvements in women's pain and sexuality outcomes for both women and partners. Exploratory analyses indicated improvements in pain‐related cognitions, as well as anxiety and depression symptoms, for both members of the couple. Therapists' reported high treatment reliability and participating couples' high participation rates and reported treatment satisfaction indicate adequate feasibility. Conclusions Treatment outcomes, along with treatment satisfaction ratings, confirm the preliminary success of CBCT in reducing pain and psychosexual burden for women with PVD and their partners. Further large‐scale randomized controlled trials are necessary to examine the efficacy of CBCT compared with and in conjunction with first‐line biomedical interventions for PVD

Intimacy, sexual satisfaction and sexual distress in vulvodynia couples : an observational study

Note de l'éditeur : This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. / Cet article ne constitue pas la version officielle, et peut différer de la version publiée dans la revue.Objective. Vulvodynia is a prevalent idiopathic pain condition with deleterious consequences for the sexuality of affected women and their spouses. Intimacy has been identified as a facilitator of adjustment to health difficulties in couples. Two components of intimacy were examined among couples with vulvodynia – empathic response and disclosure – in relation to their sexual satisfaction and sexual distress. Methods. Using an observational design, 50 women (M age= 24.50, SD = 4.03) diagnosed with vulvodynia and their spouses (M age = 26.10, SD = 5.70) participated in a filmed discussion focusing on the impact of vulvodynia on their lives. Empathic response and disclosure were assessed by a trained observer and self-reported by participants after engaging in the discussion. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model guided the data analyses. Results. Women’s and spouses’ higher observed and perceived empathic response were associated with their own and their partners’ greater sexual satisfaction. Women’s and spouses’ higher perceived disclosure were associated with their own and their partners’ greater sexual satisfaction. Women’s and spouses’ higher observed empathic response were associated with their own lower sexual distress. Women’s higher observed empathic response was associated with their spouses’ lower sexual distress. Women and spouses’ perceived greater empathic response were associated with their own lower sexual distress. Women’s and spouses’ greater perceived disclosure during the discussion were associated with their own and their partners’ lower sexual distress. Conclusions. Promoting empathic response and disclosure through couple interventions may buffer against the sexual distress and sexual dissatisfaction of couples coping with vulvodynia

Why us? Perceived injustice is associated with more sexual and psychological distress in couples coping with genito-pelvic pain

Introduction Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is the most frequent cause of genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) and is associated with negative psychological and sexual consequences for affected women and their partners. PVD is often misdiagnosed or ignored and many couples may experience a sense of injustice, due to the loss of their ability to have a normal sexual life. Perceiving injustice has been documented to have important consequences in individuals with chronic pain. However, no quantitative research has investigated the experience of injustice in this population. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between perceived injustice and pain, sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, and depression among women with PVD and their partners. Methods Women diagnosed with PVD (N = 50) and their partners completed questionnaires of perceived injustice, pain, sexual satisfaction, sexual distress, and depression. Main Outcome Measures (1) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale; (2) Female Sexual Distress Scale; (3) Beck Depression Inventory-II; and (4) McGill-Melzack Pain Questionnaire. Results After controlling for partners' age, women's higher level of perceived injustice was associated with their own greater sexual distress, and the same pattern was found for partners. Women's higher level of perceived injustice was associated with their own greater depression, and the same pattern was found for partners. Women's higher perceived injustice was not associated with their own lower sexual satisfaction but partners' higher perceived injustice was associated with their own lower sexual satisfaction. Perceived injustice was not associated with women's pain intensity. Conclusion Results suggest that perceiving injustice may have negative consequences for the couple's sexual and psychological outcomes. However, the effects of perceived injustice appear to be intra-individual. Targeting perceived injustice could enhance the efficacy of psychological interventions for women with PVD and their partners

Randomized clinical trial of multimodal physiotherapy treatment compared to overnight lidocaine ointment in women with provoked vestibulodynia: Design and methods

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition yet its management relies mainly on non-empirically validated interventions. Among the many causes of PVD, there is growing evidence that pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunctions play an important role in its pathophysiology. Multimodal physiotherapy, which addresses these dysfunctions, is judged by experts to be highly effective and is recommended as a firstline treatment. However, the effectiveness of this promising intervention has been evaluated through only two small uncontrolled trials. The proposed bi-center, single-blind, parallel group, randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to evaluate the efficacy of multimodal physiotherapy and compare it to a frequently used first-line treatment, topical overnight application of lidocaine, in women with PVD. A total of 212 women diagnosed with PVD according to a standardized protocol were eligible for the study and were randomly assigned to either multimodal physiotherapy or lidocaine treatment for 10weeks. The primary outcome measure is pain during intercourse (assessed with a numerical rating scale). Secondary measures include sexual function, pain quality, psychological factors (including pain catastrophizing, anxiety, depression and fear of pain), PFM morphology and function, and patients' global impression of change. Assessments are made at baseline, post-treatment and at the 6-month follow-up. This manuscript presents and discusses the rationale, design and methodology of the first RCT investigating physiotherapy in comparison to a commonly prescribed first-line treatment, overnight topical lidocaine, for women with PVD

Never Too Late to Train: The Effects of Pelvic Floor Muscle Training on the Shape of the Levator Hiatus in Incontinent Older Women

Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) training is the first-line treatment for women of all ages with urinary incontinence (UI), but evidence supporting its effects on the functional anatomy of the pelvic floor is scarce in older women. We aimed to evaluate the long-term (one-year) effects of PFM training on the shape of the levator hiatus (LH) in older women with UI and its association with PFM force, incontinence severity, and potential effect modifiers (age, UI severity, BMI, and UI type). This is a secondary analysis of the GROUP study, a non-inferiority RCT assessing the effects of a structured and progressive 12-week PFM training program to treat UI in older women. Data were available from 264/308 participants at the one-year follow-up. PFM training resulted in reduced LH size toward a more “circular” shape, which was consistently associated with greater PFM force and reduced UI severity. Further, no significant interactions were found between LH shape changes and any of the potential effect modifiers, suggesting that women will potentially benefit from PFM training, regardless of age, UI severity, BMI, and UI type (stress or mixed), with changes that can be observed in the functional anatomy of the pelvic floor and sustained in the long-term

Group physiotherapy compared to individual physiotherapy to treat urinary incontinence in aging women: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background Urinary incontinence (UI), one of the most prevalent health concerns confronting women aged over 60 years, affects up to 55% of older community-dwelling women—20–25% with severe symptoms. Clinical practice guidelines recommend individualized pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) as a first-line treatment for stress or mixed UI in women, although lack of human and financial resources limits delivery of this first-line treatment. Preliminary data suggest that group-based treatments may provide the answer. To date, no adequately powered trials have evaluated the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of group compared to individual PFMT for UI in older women. Given demographic projections, high prevalence of UI in older women, costly barriers, and group PFMT promising results, there is a clear need to rigorously compare the short- and long-term effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of group vs individual PFMT. Methods/Design The study is designed as a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial, conducted in two facilities (Montreal and Sherbrooke) in the Canadian province of Quebec. Participants include 364 ambulatory, community-dwelling women, aged 60 years and older, with stress or mixed UI. Randomly assigned participants will follow a 12-week PFMT, either in one-on-one sessions or as part of a group, under the supervision of a physiotherapist. Blinded assessments at baseline, immediately post intervention, and at one year will include the seven-day bladder diary, the 24-h pad test, symptoms and quality of life questionnaires, adherence and self-efficacy questionnaire, pelvic floor muscle function, and cost assessments. Primary analysis will test our main hypothesis that group-based treatment is not inferior to individualized treatment with respect to the primary outcome: relative (%) reduction in the number of leakages. Discussion Should this study find that a group-based approach is not less effective than individual PFMT, and more cost-effective, this trial will impact positively continence-care accessibility and warrant a change in clinical practice. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02039830 . Registered on 12 December 2013; Study protocol version 2; 21 November 2013

Additional file 1: of The association between adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal human papillomavirus infection: a systematic review protocol

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