Evaluation of sexual dysfunction in females with neck and upper back myofascial pain syndrome: a cross-sectional study.

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a prevalent chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder that is frequently encountered in clinical practice and can cause sexual dysfunction in women. While there have been studies examining sexual function in various painful rheumatic conditions, particularly fibromyalgia, no studies have been conducted specifically on primary MPS. In this context, we aimed to investigate the frequency of sexual intercourse and the factors associated with it in women diagnosed with MPS. The study was designed as a cross-sectional study at a tertiary rehabilitation center between May 2022 and April 2023. Forty-five consecutive sexually active women (mean age: 38.1 ± 6.8 years) diagnosed with primary MPS were included in the study. They were compared to 45 healthy women of similar ages. The participants were interviewed regarding their weekly frequency of sexual intercourse and the importance of sexual life. Also, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were assessed. The importance of sexual life score (p = 0.008), BDI (p < 0.001), VAS pain (p < 0.001), and VAS fatigue (p < 0.001) values were found to be lower in the patient group compared to the control group. The frequency of sexual intercourse was lower in the patient group, although this difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.083). In patients with a higher BDI score (≥ 17), the number of sexual intercourse was lower (p = 0.044), and the severity of fatigue was higher (p = 0.013). Significant associations were observed in MPS patients between the weekly frequency of sexual intercourse and VAS pain, VAS fatigue, BDI, and the importance of the sexual life score. A positive correlation was observed between the number of weekly sexual intercourses and the importance of the sexual life score (r = 0.577, p < 0.001), and negative correlations were found between BDI (r = - 0.478, p < 0.001), VAS pain (r = - 0.409, p < 0.001), and VAS fatigue (r = - 0.439, p < 0.001). Patients with MPS should be assessed for depressive mood and fatigue, as these factors may contribute to sexual dysfunction. These results may also emphasize the importance of adopting a multidisciplinary approach in the management of MPS patients with concurrent sexual dysfunction. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05727566.

The Effect of Frequency of Sexual Intercourse on Symptoms in Women with Fibromyalgia.

Objectives: Fibromyalgia is known to affect sexual function, but the effect of frequency of sexual intercourse on fibromyalgia symptom severity is unclear. This study investigated how frequently women with fibromyalgia engaged in sexual activity affected how severe the disease was. Methods: The depression status of the participants was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the mean monthly frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 3 months was noted. Pain levels of fibromyalgia patients were evaluated with Visual Analog Scale (VAS), pain prevalence Widespread Pain Index (WPI), symptom level Symptom Severity Scale (SSS), and fibromyalgia exposure status with Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). Results: A hundred women with fibromyalgia with a mean age of 37.11±6.2 years and 100 healthy female controls with a mean age of 36.53 ± 5.85 years participated in the study. Female patients with fibromyalgia had higher BDI and VAS scores and lower frequency of sexual intercourse (p<0.001). While no significant relationship was observed between the frequency of sexual intercourse and VAS, FIQ, SSS and WPI scores, it was found that BDI was lower in those with an average monthly frequency of 8 or more sexual intercourses (p=0.02). Conclusion: This study revealed that the frequency of sexual intercourse is low in female patients with FM and that depression is less common in women with FM who have a higher frequency of sexual intercourse.