Physical Therapy for Painful Intercourse Related to Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction and Vulvodynia
Sofie has made wonderful progress with physical therapy. Her sessions were comprised of various manual therapies applied to her pelvic girdle, spine, hips, perineum, and pelvic floor muscles. She also utilized a home surface EMG biofeedback unit to learn how to relax and downtrain her overactive pelvic floor muscles. Her first surface EMG test revealed a resting tone of 6.79uv (green line) with many noted spikes or spasms occurring. After 4 months of PT having 1-2 sessions per week, we see a fantastic improvement in stability and resting level of 2.75uv (blue line). A result of 2.0uv or below is considered within normal range. Sofie was very compliant with her home program using dilator therapy, pelvic floor muscle relaxation exercises, and also used vaginal valium suppositories nightly for 2 months. She also worked on improving her diet by reducing her gluten and sugar intake, and focused on lowering her anxiety levels. The overall pain in her vulvar vestibule decreased from high moderate to mild in all quadrants. She is now able to have a gynecological exam and is able to engage in intercourse several times per week. She has achieved her goals!
