Does physiotherapy treatment improve the self-reported pain levels and quality of life of women with vulvodynia? A pilot study

Summary The study investigated whether a 3-month period of physiotherapy treatment improved the pain levels and quality of life of women with vulvodynia. A quasi-experimental method was used, comprising a within-subjects, pre-test post-test design in which subjects acted as their own controls. A convenience sample of 14 subjects was recruited from referrals to women's health physiotherapy between May and August 2004. The McGill Pain Questionnaire and Short Form 36 (version 2) were used to assess changes in self-reported pain levels and quality of life, respectively. Subjects completed questionnaires on recruitment to the study, 3 months later (immediately prior to commencing physiotherapy treatment), and after 3 months of treatment. The study investigated whether changes in pain levels and quality of life observed during the 3-month intervention phase differed from those observed during the 3-month control phase. The pain levels of study subjects reduced during the treatment period relative to the control period, and improvements were also observed in some aspects of quality of life. These results indicate that physiotherapy may offer some benefit in the treatment of vulvodynia. However, none of the findings reached statistical significance due to the small sample size. This study supports the view that physiotherapy provides pain relief for women with vulvodynia. Larger, randomised controlled trials are required to confirm the effectiveness of the treatment.