Author: Huang AJ1,2, Rowen TS3, Abercrombie P4, Subak LL2,3, Schembri M2,3, Plaut T1,2, Chao MT1,5
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Department of Medicine.
<sup>2</sup>Women's Health Clinical Research Center.
<sup>3</sup>Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences.
<sup>4</sup>Women's Health & Healing, Healdsburg, California, USA.
<sup>5</sup>Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
Conference/Journal: Pain Med.
Date published: 2017 Apr 15
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1093/pm/pnw306. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 253
Objective.: To develop a group-based therapeutic yoga program for women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) and explore the effects of this program on pain severity, sexual function, and well-being.
Methods.: A yoga therapy program for CPP was developed by a multidisciplinary panel of clinicians, researchers, and yoga consultants. Women reporting moderate to severe pelvic pain for at least six months were recruited into a single-arm trial. Participants attended twice weekly group classes focusing on Iyengar-based yoga techniques and were instructed to practice yoga at home an hour a week for six weeks. Participants self-rated the severity of their pelvic pain using daily logs. The impact of participants' pain on everyday activities, emotional well-being, and sexual function was assessed using an Impact of Pelvic Pain (IPP) questionnaire. Sexual function was further assessed using the Sexual Health Outcomes in Women Questionnaire (SHOW-Q).
Results.: Among the 16 participants (age range = 31-64 years), average ratings of the severity of pain "at its worst," "at its best," and "on average" decreased by 29%, 32%, and 34%, respectively, from start to six weeks ( P < 0.05 for all). Women demonstrated improvements in scores on IPP subscales for daily activities (1.8 ± 0.7 to 0.9 ± 0.7, P < 0.001), emotional well-being (1.7 ± 0.9 to 0.9 ± 0.7, P = 0.005), and sexual function (1.9 ± 1.1 to 1.0 ± 0.9, P = 0.04). Scores on the SHOW-Q "pelvic problem interference" scale also improved over six weeks (53 ± 23 to 27 ± 23, P = 0.002).
Conclusions.: Findings provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility of teaching women with CPP to practice yoga to self-manage pain and improve quality of life and sexual function.
KEYWORDS: Chronic Pelvic Pain; Integrative Medicine; Yoga
PMID: 28419385 DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnw306