The experiences of women seeking help for vaginismus and its impact on their sense of self: An integrative review.

BACKGROUND: There is low social awareness of vaginismus despite it being a relatively common female sexual dysfunction that makes vaginal penetration painful, difficult, and/or impossible. While existing literature on vaginismus has had a clinical focus on the affected genitalia, there is a lack of research on women's help-seeking experiences of vaginismus from their perspective. OBJECTIVES: This integrative review's objective was to explore: women's help-seeking experiences of vaginismus, and how such help-seeking experiences impact their sense of self. DESIGN: Cooper's five-step integrative review approach was followed to develop a research question, a search strategy, selection criteria, and data evaluation, analysis, and presentation. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was completed in the following seven databases in January 2023: PsycINFO, ProQuest Central, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Embase. Out of the 373 articles found through database searches and additional citation searching, 22 studies were included in this review for meeting the eligibility criteria of having an empirical design, being written in English, and examining women's help-seeking experiences for vaginismus and its impact on their sense of self. RESULTS: Thematic analysis was used to summarize the findings from the included studies which were informed by 1671 participants. Help-Seeking Process, Medical Management, Help-Seeking and Sense of Self, and Holistic Care Recommendations from the Findings emerged as four major themes with corresponding subthemes. CONCLUSION: This review indicates that women continue to face difficulties in seeking and receiving help for vaginismus even through the healthcare system. However, the studies did not explicitly discuss how women's help-seeking for vaginismus impacted their sense of self. This highlights an epistemological gap on how women's help-seeking for their vaginismus impacts their sense of self, which can affect their treatment responses. Recommendations are provided for future healthcare and research to improve health outcomes for women with vaginismus.

The effects of sexual counseling and pelvic floor relaxation on sexual functions in women receiving vaginismus treatment: a randomized controlled study.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of sexual counseling and pelvic floor relaxation on sexual functions in women receiving vaginismus treatment. METHODS: A total of 34 women at the vaginismus treatment stage, including 17 in the experiment group and 17 in the control group, were included in the study with a randomized controlled design. In addition to the routine treatment protocol, women in the experiment group were provided with pelvic relaxation and sexual counseling based on the Information, Motivation, Behavior (IMB) model consisting of four sessions. The control group received the routine treatment protocol. The assessments were made at the 3rd week and 2nd month after coitus. The women filled out an Information Form, the validated Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and the Vaginal Penetration Cognition Questionnaire (VPCQ). RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 27.59±5.32, and their mean duration of marriage/relationship was 33.44±12.11 months. After the treatment statistically significant increases were observed in the total FSFI scores and the desire, arousal, and pain dimension scores of the experiment group in comparison with the control group (p<0.05). In the VPCQ total scores, there was a significant reduction in the experiment group in comparison with the control group and after the treatment in comparison with before the treatment (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The sexual counseling based on the IMB model and pelvic relaxation interventions provided to the women who were receiving vaginismus treatment affected their sexual function positively. It may be recommended to conduct comparative studies with a broader sample and different models.

A importância da intervenção fisioterapêutica no vaginismo: uma revisão sistemática / The importance of physiotherapeutic intervention in vaginism: a systematic review

Objetivo: Descrever a importância da intervenção fisioterapêutica para mulheres com vaginismo. Fonte de dados: Foram utilizadas as bases de dados SciELO, PubMed, Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS) e Literatura Cinza, incluindo artigos nacionais e internacionais, sem delimitação temporal. Foram propostas para as buscas as seguintes palavras-chave e operadores boleanos: [("vaginismus") AND ("physiotherapy" OR "intervention" OR "efficiency")], sendo esses posteriormente adequados para as demais bases que foram utilizadas nesta revisão sistemática. Seleção dos estudos: A seleção dos estudos foi realizada por três examinadores independentes. Coleta de dados: Inicialmente foram excluídos estudos com base no título, em seguida os resumos foram analisados e, dos 353 artigos encontrados inicialmente, quatro foram elegíveis para esta revisão. Síntese dos dados: Os artigos incluídos descreveram que o tratamento fisioterapêutico é de extrema importância para as mulheres com vaginismo, pois aumenta a força e o controle sobre a musculatura do assoalho pélvico, diminuindo os sintomas do vaginismo e promovendo o incremento da satisfação sexual. Conclusão: A intervenção fisioterapêutica é imprescindível para mulheres que apresentam vaginismo, tendo em vista que suas técnicas têm efetividade na prevenção e tratamento do vaginismo, além de promover melhora importante na qualidade de vida e na satisfação sexual das mulheres.(AU)

Objective: To describe the importance of physical therapy intervention for women with vaginismus. Data source: The SciELO, PubMed, Virtual Health Library (BVS) and Gray Literature databases were used, including national and international articles, without temporal delimitation. The following keywords and Boolean operators were proposed for the searches: [("vaginismus") AND ("physiotherapy" OR "intervention" OR "efficiency")], which were later suitable for the other bases that were used in this systematic review. Study selection: Study selection was performed by three independent examiners. Data collection: Initially, studies were excluded based on the title, then the abstracts were analyzed and of the 353 articles found initially, 4 were eligible for this review. Data synthesis: The articles included described that physical therapy treatment is extremely important for women with vaginismus, as it increases strength and control over the pelvic floor muscles, decreasing the symptoms of vaginismus and promoting increased sexual satisfaction. Conclusion: Physical therapy intervention is essential for women who have vaginismus, considering that its techniques are effective in preventing and treating vaginismus, in addition to promoting an important improvement in women's quality of life and sexual satisfaction.(AU)

Comparing the effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation via sexual cognitive/behavioral therapy of pelvic floor muscles versus local injection of botulinum toxin on the sexual functioning of patients with primary vaginismus: a randomized clinical trial.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Most patients suffering from vaginismus feel sinful, anxious, and incompetent, with reduced self-confidence. This study was aimed at comparing the effectiveness of the physiotherapy of pelvic floor muscles as a standard treatment and local injection of botulinum toxin on the sexual functioning of patients with primary vaginismus. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial (RCT), the study population included women with primary vaginismus referred to the Sexual Health and Gynecologic Clinics of Imam Khomeini Hospital during 2013-2014. They were diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria and underwent treatments with botulinum injection (intervention group) and physiotherapy as the current treatment (control group). The participants' primary and secondary outcomes were measured based on successful intercourse and sexual functioning of each group. RESULTS: The results indicated that the overall standard physiotherapy, along with other measurements, such as functional electrical stimulation and desensitization, could effectively improve the patients' Female Sexual Function Index compared with botulinum treatment. At the end of the study, it was found that 20 and 26 patients out of the 30 and 28 patients in the intervention and control groups managed to have successful intercourse respectively (P = 0.014). Also, sexual dysfunction frequencies were seen to be decreased by 26.6% and 50% in the mentioned groups respectively (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Considering the higher efficacy of physiotherapy procedures compared with those of the desensitization and electrical stimulation techniques, this therapeutic method should be considered the first-line treatment of vaginismus (IRCT2016061828486N1).

Atuação da fisioterapia nas disfunções sexuais / Performance of physiotherapy in sexual dysfunctions

As disfunções sexuais femininas (DSFs) são consideradas um problema de saúde pública pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS). A disfunção sexual na mulher pode influenciar sua saúde física e mental. Dentre os transtornos sexuais femininos, os mais evidentes são vaginismo edispareunia. O vaginismo é a dificuldade de relaxamento da musculatura vaginal no momento da relação, e a dispareunia é definida como dor recorrente ou persistente associada à relação sexual. Assim, o objetivo desta revisão foi identificar as principais disfunções sexuais e verificar as intervenções da fisioterapia nas mesmas por meio de uma revisão da literatura. Foram encontrados artigos científicos nos idiomas inglês, português e espanhol, nas bases de dados Scielo e Pubmed. Os artigos analisados relatam o impacto negativo na vida das mulheres e mostram que a fisioterapia possui inúmeras técnicas para o tratamento dessas disfunções. Na busca inicial para a realização desta revisão integrativa, foram encontradas 28 publicações nas bases de dados Scielo e Pubmed. A maioria dos estudos analisados nesta revisão mostrou que a fisioterapia tem contribuído significantemente para a melhora da função sexual nas mulheres Os recursos utilizados pela Fisioterapia são: Cinesioterapia, Eletroestimulação, Ginástica Hipopressiva, Biofeedback, Cones Vaginais e Terapia Manual. A não padronização dos tratamentos dificulta concluir a melhor terapia, porém todos os estudos apresentaram melhora ou cura dos sintomas associados às disfunções sexuais, demonstrando os benefícios da fisioterapia.(AU)

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is considered a public health issue by the World Health Organization (WHO). Sexual dysfunction in women can influence their physical and mental health. Among the female sexual disorders, vaginismus and dyspareunia are the most evident. Vaginismus is the difficulty in relaxing the vaginal muscles during sexual relations and dyspareunia is defined as a persistent or recurrent pain associated with sexual intercourse. The purpose of this review was to verify the effectiveness of physical therapy treatments in female sexual dysfunction, through an literature review. The databases searched were PubMed and SciELO. 28 studies were found in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The analyzed articles report the negative impact of sexual dysfunction in women's lives and show that physical therapy has numerous techniques for treating such disorders. Most of the analyzed studies show a significant contribution of physical therapy to improve sexual function in women through resources such as kinesiotherapy, electrostimulation, hypopressive exercises, biofeedback, vaginal cones and manual therapy. The lack of standardization of treatments makes it difficult to conclude what the best therapy in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction is. However, all studies showed improvement or cure of the symptoms associated with sexual dysfunction, demonstrating the benefits of physical therapy in this condition.(AU)

Diagnosis and treatment of unconsummated marriage in an Iranian couple.

BACKGROUND: Unconsummated marriage is a problem among couples who would not be able to perform natural sexual intercourse and vaginal penetration. This disorder is more common in developing countries and sometimes couples would come up with non-technical and non-scientific methods to overcome their problem. Multi-dimensional approach and narrative exposure therapy used in this case. METHODS: This study would report a case of unconsummated marriage between a couple after 6 years. The main problem of this couple was vaginismus and post-traumatic stress. RESULTS: Treatment with multi-dimensional approach for this couple included methods like narrative exposure therapy, educating the anatomy of female and male reproductive system, correcting misconceptions, educating foreplay, educating body exploring and non-sexual and sexual massage and penetrating the vagina first by women finger and then men's after relaxation. The entire stages of the treatment lasted for four sessions and at the one-month follow-up couple's satisfaction was desirable. CONCLUSION: Unconsummated marriage is one of the main sexual problems; it is more common in developing countries than developed countries and cultural factors are effective on intensifying this disorder. The use of multi-dimensional approach in this study led to expedite diagnosis and treatment of vaginismus.

A fisioterapia pélvica melhora a dor genitopélvica/desordens da penetração? / Does the pelvic physical therapy improves genitopelvic pain/penetration disorder?

Muitas vezes, as Disfunções Sexuais Femininas (DSF) são subdiagnosticadas, têm causas multifatoriais e não recebem devida atenção para o tratamento. Estas disfunções podem se manifestar em qualquer idade, sobretudo em mulheres adultas e idosas, e de diferentes formas. Para ajudar essa mulher na resolução do seu problema, o ideal é que profissionais especializados em saúde sexual a aborde, cada um em sua área de atuação. Além de apoio médico e psicológico, a fisioterapia tem papel fundamental na reabilitação sexual da dor genitopélvica/desordens da penetração (vulvodínea, vestibulodínea, dispareunia e vaginismo). O fisioterapeuta utiliza recursos como terapia manual, cinesioterapia, eletroestimulação, biofeedback, eletromiografia, cones vaginais e dilatadores na conduta terapêutica para essas disfunções. A literatura ainda apresenta-se restrita neste tema, mas é possível afirmar que a fisioterapia pélvica, se bem conduzida, é resolutiva, proporcionando satisfação e melhora da qualidade de vida da mulher.(AU)

Often, Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD) is underdiagnosed, have multifactorial causes and do not receive adequate attention for treatment. These dysfunctions may appear at any age, especially in adult and elderly women, and in different ways. To help this woman in the resolution of her problem, the ideal is that professionals specialized in sexual health address her, each one in its area of operation. In addition to medical and psychological support, physiotherapy plays a key role in sexual rehabilitation genito-p-elvic pain/penetration disorders (vulvodynea, vestibulodynea, dyspareunia and vaginismus). The physical therapist works with manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, electrical stimulation, biofeedback, electromyography, vaginal cones and dilators in the therapeutic approach. The literature also presents restricted in this area, but we can say that the pelvic physical therapy, if well conducted, is resolute, providing satisfaction and improving quality of life of women.(AU)

[Multimodal therapeutic approach of vaginismus: an innovative approach through trigger point infiltration and pulsed radiofrequency of the pudendal nerve]. / Terapêutica multimodal do vaginismo: abordagem inovadora por meio de infiltração de pontos gatilho e radiofrequência pulsada do nervo pudendo.

Vaginismus is a poorly understood disorder, characterized by an involuntary muscular spasm of the pelvic floor muscles and outer third of the vagina during intercourse attempt, which results in aversion to penetration. It is reported to affect 1-7% of women worldwide. With this report the authors aim to describe the case of a young patient with vaginismus in whom techniques usually from the chronic pain domain were used as part of her multimodal therapeutic regimen.

Vaginismo / Vaginismus

Vaginismo é condição clínica rara em que a penetração vaginal, seja pelo ato sexual, espéculo ginecológico ou outro objeto, é impedida. Associa-se a multiplicidade de fatores que incluem condições sociais, psicológicas, psiquiátricas, ginecológicas, psicanalíticas e sexológicas. Sua etiologia está ligada, principalmente, a traumas sexuais e educação sexual rígida, embora nem sempre essas associações possam ser feitas. É assunto sobre o qual existe grande desconhecimento, inclusive pelos médicos, o que torna sua abordagem difícil, muitas vezes iatrogênica. O tratamento inclui técnicas de psicoterapia cognitiva e comportamental, tratamento médico com ansiolíticos e anestésicos tópicos, além de uso de vasodilatadores vaginais. Tratamentos com base em fisioterapia por eletroestimulação vaginal e injeções vaginais de neurotoxina botulínica têm sido propostos, ainda sem evidência científica que os autorize. Esta revisão discute conceitos e tratamentos do vaginismo.

Vaginismus is a rare clinical condition that prevents vaginal penetration, either during the sexual act, or by a gynecological speculum or any other object. It is associated to multiple factors including social, psychological, psychiatric, gynecological, psychoanalytical, and sexual conditions. Its etiology is mainly linked to sexual traumas and rigid sexual education,even though this kind of association is not always traceable. Knowledge about the subject is extremely limited, even among physicians. This is a difficult topic to approach, sometimes requiring iatrogenic approaches. Its treatment includes cognitive and behavioral psychotherapy, medical treatment with anxiolytics and topic anesthetics, as well as use of vaginal vasodilators. Treatment methods based on physical therapy by vaginal electrostimulation and vaginal injections of botulinum neurotoxin have been proposed, although no scientific evidence currently evidently supports their use. This review discusses concepts and treatment methods for vaginismus.

Interventions for vaginismus.

BACKGROUND: Vaginismus is an involuntary contraction of the vaginal muscles which makes sexual intercourse difficult or impossible. It is one of the more common female psychosexual problems. Various therapeutic strategies for vaginismus, such as sex therapy and desensitisation, have been proposed, and uncontrolled case series appear promising. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of different interventions for vaginismus. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Group's Specialised Register (CCDANCTR-Studies and CCDANCTR-References) to August 2012. This register contains relevant randomised controlled trials from: The Cochrane Library (all years), EMBASE (1974 to date), MEDLINE (1950 to date) and PsycINFO (1967 to date). We searched reference lists and conference abstracts. We contacted experts in the field regarding unpublished material. SELECTION CRITERIA: Controlled trials comparing treatments for vaginismus with another treatment, a placebo treatment, treatment as usual or waiting list control. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The review authors extracted data which we verified with the trial investigator where possible. MAIN RESULTS: Five studies were included, of which four with a total of 282 participants provided data. No meta-analysis was possible due to heterogeneity of comparisons within included studies as well as inadequate reporting of data. All studies were considered to be at either moderate or high risk of bias. The results of this systematic review indicate that there is no clinical or statistical difference between systematic desensitisation and any of the control interventions (either waiting list control, systematic desensitisation combined with group therapy or in vitro (with women under instruction by the therapist) desensitisation) for the treatment of vaginismus. The drop-out rates were higher in the waiting list groups. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: A clinically relevant effect of systematic desensitisation when compared with any of the control interventions cannot be ruled out. None of the included trials compared other behaviour therapies (e.g. cognitive behaviour therapy, sex therapy) to pharmacological interventions. The findings are limited by the evidence available and as such conclusions about the efficacy of interventions for the treatment of vaginismus should be drawn cautiously.

Addressing anxiety in vivo in physiotherapy treatment of women with severe vaginismus: a clinical approach.

Physiotherapy for the treatment of vaginismus is perceived as an intervention aimed to normalize muscle tone of the pelvic floor in order to allow vaginal penetration in accordance with the traditional view of vaginal spasm as its defining feature. Newer definitions recognize the experience of anxiety as well as pain, and effective treatment approaches should address these components as well. Physiotherapists often encounter women who, as a result of severe anxiety, are unable to undergo examination and treatment, despite their expressed desire to do so. This article describes a therapeutic intervention designed to help women with vaginismus prepare for examination and treatment by addressing the component of anxiety in real-life situations. This approach is also appropriate for nurse practitioners and physicians who work with this patient population and may be adapted for sex therapists to teach as a home exercise.

[Treatment of vaginismus with EMDR: a report of two cases]. / Vajinismusun EMDR Yöntemi ile Tedavisi: Iki Olgu Sunumu.

Vaginismus is a type of sexual dysfunction in which spasm of the vaginal musculature prevents penetrative intercourse. The main diagnostic criterion is the presence of recurrent or persistent involuntary spasm of the musculature of the outer third of the vagina that interferes with sexual intercourse. In many cases associated pain or the fear of pain may contribute to its persistence. Herein we report 2 patients that presented with vaginismus that developed secondary to childhood sexual trauma, which was treated with the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) technique. EMDR is a non-pharmacologic treatment for psychological trauma. Randomized controlled trials with posttraumatic stress disorder patients and with victims of sexual abuse have shown that EMDR is effective. The standard 8-phase EMDR protocol was used in both of the presented cases. Following 3 sessions of EMDR, the patients exhibited a substantial reduction in self-reported and clinician-rated anxiety, and a reduction in the credibility of dysfunctional beliefs concerning sexual intercourse. These findings support the notion that EMDR could be an effective treatment alternative for patients with vaginismus of traumatic etiology.

Efficacy of functional electrical stimulation-biofeedback with sexual cognitive-behavioral therapy as treatment of vaginismus.

OBJECTIVES: To report 12 cases of vaginismus that were successfully treated with functional electrical stimulation (FES)-biofeedback with sexual cognitive-behavioral therapy (SCBT) to determine the efficacy of FES-biofeedback with SCBT as a standard therapy for vaginismus. Vaginismus is an involuntary spasm of the musculature of the outer third of the vagina that leads to impossible vaginal penetration, causing personal distress. Various therapeutic approaches, both physiologic and psychological, have been considered. METHODS: Twelve women with vaginismus referred from a checkup outpatient clinic participated in this study. The patients enrolled in this study had vaginismus according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The patients were assessed before and after treatment with gynecologic examinations and structured interviews pertaining to sexual function and psychological adjustment. After the diagnosis of vaginismus, we conducted weekly pelvic floor muscle relaxation using FES-biofeedback. Once the patients became tolerable to vaginal manipulation, the eight-stage SCBT (eight-stage gradual desensitization described by Kaplan using vaginal self-dilation with fingers and vaginal probe insertion) was added for 8 weeks. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment, all 12 couples had completed the program, had become tolerable to vaginal insertion of larger size probes, and could achieve satisfactory vaginal intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: FES-biofeedback with SCBT is an effective aid for patients with vaginismus to learn muscle control. Therefore, it may increase the success rate of treatment of vaginismus.