PELVIC PHYSIOTHERAPY APPROACH TO GENITOPELVIC PAIN: PATIENTS' PERCEPTION

Abstract

This article reports women's perceptions of the role of physical therapy in genitopelvic pain. Methodology: An exploratory-descriptive, qualitative study was conducted with a convenience sample of adult women with complaints of genitopelvic pain treated at the physical therapy teaching clinic of the Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste (UNICENTRO). The women were interviewed using a questionnaire about their sociodemographic and clinical profiles, and pain characteristics before and after pelvic physical therapy sessions. All interviews were recorded on a cell phone using the Voice Recorder® application, and content analysis and categorization of the findings into units of meaning were subsequently performed. Results: Seven women diagnosed with genitopelvic pain participated in this study, with a mean age of 36.15 ± 9.16 years, time since diagnosis of 12.23 ± 5.40 months, all in menarche, heavy menstrual flow, history of primary dysmenorrhea and who had never undergone pelvic physiotherapy. There was an improvement in pain symptoms after physiotherapy, increased quality of life and sexual function. Conclusion: The perception of physiotherapy in the management of genitopelvic pain was positive.