Vulvodynia

In 2003, the American Physical Therapy Association’s Section on Women’s Health formed the Vulvar Pain Task Force to research and develop evidence-based physical therapy guidelines for vulvodynia. Research showed that physical therapy treatment that addressed dysfunctional muscles, joints, ligaments, fascia, and viscera can decrease or eliminate chronic vulvar pain in women. Concurrently, numerous researchers in other disciplines were actively studying the syndrome. In 2006, Zelnoun et al accurately offered the syndrome as a “…group of conditions characterized by varying degrees of pain and dysfunction in the mucosa, underlying musculature, and associated dysfunction in the pain regulatory system.” Similarly in 2007, the Vulvar Pain Task Force stated, “Chronic vulvar pain may be related to, or caused by, musculoskeletal, neurological, viscerogenic, and myofascial dysfunction.” Studies continuously emerge showing that musculoskeletal dysfunction is a cause of chronic pelvic pain (CPP). In 2008, Frank Tu et al conducted a masked, prospective, cross-sectional study of abnormal pelvic, abdominal, and back examination findings in 19 women with CPP versus 20 healthy control subjects. The study concluded that pelvic musculoskeletal abnormalities characterize many women with CPP and that the investigation of somatic pain generators is warranted in these patients. A physical therapist specializing in pelvic floor dysfunction can help identify and treat these impairments in patients with vulvodynia.