Introduction/Rationale: Women with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) experience pain during intercourse. Somatosensory rehabilitation (SRP) and pain management (PMP) programs that are familiar to occupational therapists, appear promising for this condition. Objectives: 1-Assess the feasibility and acceptability of SRP and PMP in women with PVD, 2-Compare changes in pain intensity and sexual function following these interventions.
Methods/Approach: A feasibility and acceptability randomized controlled study was conducted with 45 participants with PVD. They received either 12 weekly sessions of SRP (in-person) or PMP (phone-based). Feasibility outcomes included dropout rates and adherence to exercises/advice. Acceptability was assessed with the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability questionnaire. Pain (Numerical Rating Scale 0-10) and sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index). Descriptive statistics and linear mixed models were used to analyze the data.
Results/Practice Implications: Five participants (23%) in the SRP and three in the PMP (13%) dropped out of the study. Participants completed 89% [interquartile 69-100] and 78% [interquartile 68-98] of the exercises/advice in the SRP and PMP, respectively. The programs were rated as acceptable by participants. Both interventions resulted in a significant reduction in pain intensity at post-treatment (within-group p<0.001), with the median pain decreasing from 6.8 to 4.7/10 for the SRP and from 7.3 to 4.7/10 for the PMP. No differences were observed between groups at post-treatment and follow-up. Also, no significant changes were observed for sexual function.
Conclusion/Contribution to the occupational therapy profession: Both interventions are feasible, acceptable and show within-group effect for reducing PVD-related pain. Further research is needed to investigate additional approaches to improve pain and sexual function outcomes and to define the role of occupational therapists in PVD.