Effects of Breathing Exercises in Women With Chronic Pelvic Pain

Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi20 enrolled

Overview

The primary cause of the complex interaction of chronic pelvic pain originates from the visceral organs in the pelvic cavity, and it has been observed that musculoskeletal dysfunctions (such as increased muscle activity in the pelvic floor muscles) are often accompanied by visceral painful stimuli in the pelvic region as a result of shared innervation and visceral-somatic convergence. This study aims to investigate the effect of breathing exercises combined with pelvic floor exercises on pain, pelvic floor muscle activity, psychological factors, and quality of life in women with chronic pelvic pain.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Pelvic Floor; Relaxation Breathing Exercises Women

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 45 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Be diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain (CPA) * Having pelvic pain for at least 6 months * 18-45 years old * Having high resting activity of the pelvic floor (\>2 microvolts based on superficial EMG (sEMG) readings) Exclusion Criteria: * Having a history of pelvic cancer and/or surgery * Receiving radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy * Having a neurological and/or psychiatric pathology * Have a urinary tract infection * Menopause * Presence of current pregnancy status * History of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy * Presence of prolapse * Being \>30 kg/cm2 according to body mass index (BMI) * Have received treatment for the pelvic area including manual therapy and electrotherapy in the last 6 months * Having had botulinum toxin injections in the pelvic region in the last 6 months * Having a communication problem

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change from Baseline Pelvic Floor Muscle Activity (PFMA) at 8 weeks

PFMA measurement will be performed with the sEMG NeuroTrac MyoPlus Pro (Verity Medical Ltd, UK) device integrated with computer software for digital analysis and report generation.

Time frame: at the baseline and end of the 8 weeks (16 sessions)

Change from Baseline Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at 8 weeks

Pain severity will be evaluated with the VAS.

Time frame: at the baseline and end of the 8 weeks (16 sessions)

Change from Baseline McGill Pain Scale- Short Form at 8 weeks

The scale consists of 3 parts. In the first part of the scale, a total of 3 pain scores are obtained: sensory pain score, perceptual pain score and total pain score. In the second part, there were five word groups ranging from "mild pain" to "unbearable pain" to determine the severity of the patient's pain. In the third part, the current pain intensity of the patient was evaluated using a visual comparison scale.

Time frame: at the baseline and end of the 8 weeks (16 sessions)