Background: Pelvic floor dysfunction and its associated symptoms are a common clinical challenge in the cancer population. Despite the noninvasive nature of pelvic floor rehabilitation (PFR) for this condition and the promising clinical results observed with its use, PFR appears to be an underused therapy.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify the association between physical therapy of the pelvic floor and its effect on pain relief and the associated symptoms in cancer patients with pelvic floor dysfunction.
Study design: Retrospective cohort study.
Methods: With the use of an electronic database in our pain medicine department, we retrospectively quantified the pain relief and symptom improvement in patients diagnosed as having chronic pelvic floor dysfunction who had undergone PFR.
Results: Of the 68 patients available for analysis, 49 met the inclusion criteria. Baseline characteristics of included patients were generally similar. The duration of pelvic pain before PFR was 53.7 months (mean) (SD, 182.5 months; median, 12 months). Of the 49 study patients, 23 (47%) had bladder dysfunction, 24 (49%) had dyspareunia, 2 (4%) had erectile dysfunction, and one (2%) had rectal dysfunction. Most symptoms associated with pelvic floor dysfunction resolved after PFR.
Limitations: Single-center, small data, retrospective study.
Conclusions: PFR is an effective tool for treating the pain associated with pelvic floor dysfunction and its related symptoms. This conservative approach can contribute to lowering the use of opiate analgesics.
Keywords: cancer pain; pelvic floor rehabilitation; pelvic pain; Pelvic floor dysfunction.