ArticlePhysical therapy2022
Impaired Ability to Relax Pelvic Floor Muscles in Men With Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome.
Article in Physical therapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS): An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- The gut-prostate axis in benign prostatic diseases: Mechanistic pathways and therapeutic implications.iScience · 2026Review
- Effects of a 6-week pelvic floor muscle training on neuromuscular activity in healthy young men: a pilot study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Immune remodeling in chronic prostatitis: from microenvironment imbalance to targeted therapy.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- Understanding the Experience of Receptive Anal Intercourse in Patients With Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome.Urology · 2025Article
- Peak alpha frequency is related to the degree of widespread pain, but not pain intensity or duration, among people with urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome.Pain reports · 2025Article
- Functional and Structural Characteristics of the Pelvic Floor in Patients with Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS).Journal of pain research · 2025Article
- Meta-analysis of the effectiveness and safety of magnetic stimulation for chronic pelvic pain.American journal of translational research · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveExcessive pelvic floor muscle activity has been suggested as a source of pain in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). Our objective was to determine whether men with CP/CPPS have changes in neural drive that impair their ability to relax pelvic floor muscles.
methodsWe recruited 90 men (42 with CP/CPPS and 48 in the control group [without a history of pelvic pain]). All completed the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI). We quantified the ability to relax by comparing resting pelvic floor muscle activity under 2 conditions: a "rest-only" condition, in which participants were instructed to simply relax, and a "rest-between-contraction" condition, in which participants were instructed to rest for several seconds between voluntary pelvic floor muscle contractions. We used multivariate mixed-effects models to examine differences between the groups (men with CP/CPPS and men in the control group) as well as the effect of 6 symptoms captured by the NIH-CPSI: pain related to location (perineum, testicles, penis, suprapubic region) and activity (urination, ejaculation).
resultsMen with CP/CPPS were significantly different from men in the control group; men with CP/CPPS had higher resting activity in the rest-between-contraction condition than in the rest-only condition, whereas men in the control group had similar resting activities in both conditions. This effect was strongest in men who reported ejaculation-related pain, which was 70% of the CP/CPPS group.
conclusionMen without a history of pelvic pain were able to relax their pelvic floor muscles back to baseline after performing voluntary pelvic floor muscle contractions. In contrast, men with CP/CPPS, particularly those with ejaculation-related pain, had an impaired ability to relax their pelvic floor muscles. IMPACT: This study may support the investigation of more personalized physical therapist approaches for CP/CPPS that enhance the ability to relax pelvic floor muscles as a mechanism for pain reduction.
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Registered trials
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