Physiotherapeutic Interventions Applied to the Bladder Pain Syndrome

May 11, 2023 updated by: Clarice Tanaka, University of Sao Paulo General Hospital

The Effects of Physiotherapeutic Interventions Applied to the Bladder Pain Syndrome: A Randomized Control Trial

Related to urological and gynecological systems, patients with Bladdeer Pain Syndrome (BPS) often present pain, pressure and chronic discomfort in suprapubic and perineal area associated with low urinary tract symptoms. This condition can generates a negative impact in cognitive, social, behavioral and sexual quality of life.

As Bladder Pain Syndrome originates from different causes and includes the genitourinary, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and neuropsychological systems, a multidisciplinary approach is needed with doctors,physiotherapists, psychologists and others. Physiotherapeutic interventions are recommended as a conservative treatment for patients with BPS. The physiotherapeutic interventions include the use of Biofeedback to relax the pelvic floor muscles and manual therapy (myofascial trigger points release) to decrease muscle tension. Transcutaneous electrostimulation (TENS) is used to decrease the pain and postural exercises to improve the pelvic mobility. In this study, our hypothesis was that women with BPS presented musculoskeletal dysfunction, and we tested a different physiotherapy approach that was not being used. The reason for that understanding was the presence of refractory urinary and pain symptoms notwithstanding the physiotherapy conventional treatment, such as manual therapy and biofeedback. To test our hypothesis, we decided to add either TENS or postural exercises to the conventional treatment. The objective of this study was to verify the effects of biofeedback (BF) and manual therapy (MT) associated with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) or postural exercises (PE) in the treatment of bladder pain syndrome (BPS) in women regarding pain and urinary symptoms.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

In the initial assessment, two specialized and trained physiotherapists applied a demographic questionnaire to identify the characteristics of the sample and validated questionnaires of perineal and suprapubic pain (Visual Analog Scale of Pain [VAS])(21) to quantify the pain; urinary symptoms and problems (O'Leary-Sant - The Interstitial Cystitis Symptom and Problem Index) (22) to evaluate the presence of urgency, frequency, nocturia and to quantify how much these symptoms represent a problem to the patients, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) (23) to evaluate the impact on sexual life. Then, a physical assessment by the inspection and palpation of pelvic and perineal areas was made to identify myofascial trigger points.

After the assessment, participants were blinded randomized by a mask researcher using random.org and allocated into three groups of treatment (TENS, Postural and Conventional) held over 10 sessions once a week. All participants needed to attend the whole treatment to be included with a maximum delay of 2 weeks to start treatment. Conventional group was treated with biofeedback for pelvic floor relaxation and manual therapy to release the tension in the suprapubic, pelvic, and intravaginal areas. The manual therapy consisted of a myofascial trigger point release maneuver using digital pressure and muscle fiber stretching in pain areas. Biofeedback consisted of pelvic floor muscle coordination and relaxation exercises using intravaginal probes. The training program was initiated with 10 fast contractions with 5 seconds of relaxation between them followed by 10 sustained contractions of 5 seconds with 10 seconds of relaxation between them. Finally, one minute of pelvic floor relaxation was performed.

TENS group was treated with biofeedback, manual therapy, and transcutaneous electrostimulation (TENS), a peripheral neuromodulation to promote analgesia in pain areas, using two transcutaneous self-adhesive electrodes Axelgaard 5 cm x 5 cm with 2 cm of distance between them. The parameters used were frequency = 100 Hz, pulse width = 50-100 µs, and current intensity according to the patient's sensitivity.

Postural group was treated with biofeedback, manual therapy, and postural exercises , which promoted pelvic mobility and functional training associated with respiratory exercises increasing the diaphragmatic excursion. Postural exercises consisted of 10 repetitions of breathing exercises in the lay-down position, 10 repetitions of hip anteversion and retroversion in the sitting position, and 10 repetitions of hip anteversion, retroversion, and lateral movement in the stand-up position.

The biofeedback and TENS device used was a Myotrac Infiniti T9800 (Thought Technology Ltda., Montreal, Canada, ISO 13485:2016ISO 13485:2016), a 2-channel system of surface electromyography and electrostimulation using the Biograph Infiniti platform. For biofeedback training, we used intravaginal electrodes St-Cloud/Femelex 6.9 cm.

All participants were evaluated post treatment and at 3 months of follow-up using the same procedures of the initial assessment.

All participants were instructed to perform home training daily 3 times/day during treatment and completed an exercise diary to demonstrate adherence to treatment. TENS and Conventional groups were instructed to perform pelvic floor relaxation exercises, and Postural group was instructed to perform pelvic floor relaxation exercises plus postural exercises.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

      • Sao Paulo, Brazil, 05403-000
        • Universidade de São Paulo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion criteria: women with a diagnosis of BPS according to NIH clinical criteria ≥ 18 years old, who presented symptoms of perineal and suprapubic pain, using painkillers, anticholinergics, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants for at least 6 months, and exhibited absence of urinary infection for at least 3 months for the initial assessment.

Exclusion criteria: women with positive uroculture, under actual or previous oncologic treatment, with systemic or neurological diseases that could compromise pelvic structures, with cognitive deficiency that compromised the understanding of the provided instructions and those who refused to participate in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: E-stim Group
TENS group was treated with biofeedback, manual therapy, andtranscutaneous electrostimulation (TENS), a peripheral neuromodulation to promote analgesia in pain areas, using two transcutaneous self-adhesive electrodes Axelgaard 5 cm x 5 cm with 2 cm of distance between them. The parameters used were frequency = 100 Hz, pulse width = 50-100 µs, and current intensity according to the patient's sensitivity.
transcutaneous electrostimulation to improve the pain.
pelvic floor muscle coordination and relaxation exercises using intravaginal probes
myofascial trigger point release maneuver using digital pressure and muscle fiber stretching in pain areas
Active Comparator: Postural Group
Postural group was treated with biofeedback, manual therapy, and postural exercises , which promoted pelvic mobility and functional training associated with respiratory exercises increasing the diaphragmatic excursion.Postural exercises consisted of 10 repetitions of breathing exercises in the lay-down position, 10 repetitions of hip anteversion and retroversion in the sitting position, and 10 repetitions of hip anteversion, retroversion, and lateral movement in the stand-up position.
pelvic floor muscle coordination and relaxation exercises using intravaginal probes
myofascial trigger point release maneuver using digital pressure and muscle fiber stretching in pain areas
breathing exercises in the lay-down position, hip anteversion and retroversion in the sitting position, and anteversion, retroversion, and lateral movement in the stand-up position
Active Comparator: Conventional Group
Conventional group was treated with biofeedback for pelvic floor relaxation and manual therapy to release the tension in the suprapubic, pelvic, and intravaginal areas. The manual therapy consisted of a myofascial trigger point release maneuver using digital pressure and muscle fiber stretching in pain areas. Biofeedback consisted of pelvic floor muscle coordination and relaxation exercises using intravaginal probes. The training program was initiated with 10 fast contractions with 5 seconds of relaxation between them followed by 10 sustained contractions of 5 seconds with 10 seconds of relaxation between them. Finally, one minute of pelvic floor relaxation was performed.
pelvic floor muscle coordination and relaxation exercises using intravaginal probes
myofascial trigger point release maneuver using digital pressure and muscle fiber stretching in pain areas

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pain symptoms
Time Frame: up to 3 months
Change from Baseline in pain sympotms on the Visual Analog Scale after treatment
up to 3 months
Urinary symptoms
Time Frame: up to 3 months
Change from Baseline in urinary symptoms on the O'Leary- Sant Urinary symptoms and problems score after treatment
up to 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sexual activity
Time Frame: up to 3 months
Change from Baseline in Female sexual function index score after treatment
up to 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 5, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 19, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

December 19, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 11, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 26, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

November 28, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 16, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 11, 2023

Last Verified

May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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