SynthesisAmerican journal of obstetrics and gynecology2018
Physical examination techniques for the assessment of pelvic floor myofascial pain: a systematic review.
Synthesis in American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03885791 (Randomized Controlled Trial of Vaginal Cryotherapy for Pelvic Floor Myofascial Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized Controlled Trial of Vaginal Cryotherapy for Pelvic Floor Myofascial Pain
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 81 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of diagnostic tests to detect pelvic floor myofascial pain.International urogynecology journal · 2022Pooled it
- Catheter-Based Sacral Nerve Block Versus Pudendal Nerve Block in the Treatment of Pudendal Neuralgia: A Randomized Double-Blinded Controlled Trial.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Trial
- Development of a standardized, reproducible screening examination for assessment of pelvic floor myofascial pain.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2019Trial
- Pelvic floor examination in vulvodynia: VAMP protocol validation in correlation with central sensitization.Women's health (London, England)Trial
- Photobiomodulation for hormone therapy-induced sexual dysfunction in women with breast cancer: a prospective quasi-experimental clinical study with a parallel observational group.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Observational
- Construction and evaluation of a model based on clinical factors and multimodal ultrasound parameters for diagnosing postpartum pelvic floor myofascial pain.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2026Article
- Data-driven diagnosis and clinical presentation of high-tone pelvic floor dysfunction.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2026Article
- Modified Delphi Consensus Guidelines for Pelvic Floor Botulinum Toxin Injection.Urogynecology (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2026Article
- Risk Factors and Nomogram for Postpartum Myofascial Pelvic Pain: A Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Urologic Manifestations of Nonrelaxing Pelvic Floor Dysfunction: Insights on Clinical Workup and Management.Current urology reports · 2025Review
- Inter-rater reliability of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) in evaluating and classifying chronic pelvic pain syndrome.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Article
- How to Approach Female Sexual Dysfunction in a Urogynecology Practice.International urogynecology journal · 2025Review
- Reply to the Editor: "Association of Urinary Incontinence with Sensory-Motor Performance in Women with Multiple Sclerosis".International urogynecology journal · 2025Article
- Observational
- Risk factors and nomogram construction for predicting women with chronic pelvic pain:a cross-sectional population study.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Exploring transvaginal sonographic characteristics of the levator ani muscle in women with postpartum pelvic floor myofascial pain.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Changes in Pelvic Floor Ultrasonographic Features after Flat Magnetic Stimulation in Women with Chronic Pelvic Pain and Levator Ani Muscle Hypertonicity.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Observational
- Pelvic Pain of Myofascial Origin in Women: Correlation with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms.Advances in urology · 2024Article
- Sexual function in women with endometriosis and pelvic floor myofascial pain syndrome.Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia · 2024Article
- Between-sexes differences in lumbopelvic muscle mechanical properties of non-climacteric adults: a cross-sectional design.Scientific reports · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMyofascial pain is characterized by the presence of trigger points, tenderness to palpation, and local or referred pain, and commonly involves the pelvic floor muscles in men and women. Pelvic floor myofascial pain in the absence of local or referred pain has also been observed in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms, and we have found that many patients report an improvement in these symptoms after receiving myofascial-targeted pelvic floor physical therapy.
objectiveWe sought to systematically review the literature for examination techniques used to assess pelvic floor myofascial pain in women. STUDY
designWe performed a systematic literature search using strategies for the concepts of pelvic floor disorders, myofascial pain, and diagnosis in Ovid MEDLINE 1946-, Embase 1947-, Scopus 1960-, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Articles were screened by 3 authors and included if they contained a description of a pelvic myofascial physical examination.
resultsIn all, 55 studies met our inclusion criteria. Overall, examination components varied significantly among the included studies and were frequently undefined. A consensus examination guideline was developed based on the available data and includes use of a single digit (62%, 34/55) to perform transvaginal palpation (75%, 41/55) of the levator ani (87%, 48/55) and obturator internus (45%, 25/55) muscles with a patient-reported scale to assess the level of pain to palpation (51%, 28/55).
conclusionPhysical examination methods to evaluate pelvic musculature for presence of myofascial pain varied significantly and were often undefined. Given the known role of pelvic floor myofascial pain in chronic pelvic pain and link between pelvic floor myofascial pain and lower urinary tract symptoms, physicians should be trained to evaluate for pelvic floor myofascial pain as part of their physical examination in patients presenting with these symptoms. Therefore, the development and standardization of a reliable and reproducible examination is needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.