Physiotherapeutic interventions in the treatment of female dyspareunia: impact on pain, sexual function and quality of life. Bibliographic review

Abstract

Introduction: dyspareunia is pain at the level of the perineum during sexual intercourse. It is a frequent sexual dysfunction, with high prevalence and a significant impact on women’s lives. Numerous interventions are available for its treatment, and studies are increasingly focusing on the role of physiotherapy to approach dyspareunia. Objective: to review the existing scientific literature on the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions in addressing dyspareunia in women, assessing pain, sexual function, and quality of life and comparing these interventions with other treatments. Material and method: a review of the literature was carried out during the months of March- May 2024, in accordance with the PRISMA recommendations, in the Pubmed, PEDro, Cinahl, Scopus, Web of Science, Lilacs and Scielo databases. Limiting to randomized clinical trials, in English, Spanish or French. To evaluate the quality and risk of bias of the studies, the PEDro scale was used.Results:The research identified a total of 79 studies, 6 clinical trials were analyzed, which included 292 patients. The physiotherapeutic interventions applied were manual therapy, pelvic floor strengthening exercises, electrotherapy, biofeedback, thermotherapy and shock waves. Conclusion: the data featured in studies demonstrate that physiotherapeutic interventions relieve pain, improve sexual function in women that suffer from dyspareunia, affect positively their quality of life, and are compatible and adjuvant to medical-surgical treatments. Physiotherapeutic interventions have proved to be effective in approaching dyspareunia in women.