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OBJECTIVES:

To describe referred pain patterns provoked from intra-pelvic structures in women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) persisting after childbirth with the purpose to improve diagnostics and give implications for treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

In this descriptive and comparative study 36 parous women with CPP were recruited from a physiotherapy department waiting list and by advertisements in newspapers. A control group of 29 parous women without CPP was consecutively assessed for eligibility from a midwifery surgery. Inclusion criterion for CPP was: moderate pain in the sacral region persisting at least six months after childbirth confirmed by pelvic pain provocation tests. Exclusion criteria in groups with and without CPP were: persistent back or pelvic pain with onset prior to pregnancy, previous back surgery and positive neurological signs. Pain was provoked by palpation of 13 predetermined intra-pelvic anatomical landmarks. The referred pain distribution was expressed in pain drawings and described in pain maps and calculated referred pain areas.

RESULTS:

Pain provoked by palpation of the posterior intra-pelvic landmarks was mostly referred to the sacral region and pain provoked by palpation of the ischial and pubic bones was mostly referred to the groin and pubic regions, with or without pain referred down the ipsilateral leg. The average pain distribution area provoked by palpation of all 13 anatomical landmarks was 30.3 mm² (19.2 to 53.7) in women with CPP as compared to 3.2 mm² (1.0 to 5.1) in women without CPP, p< 0.0001.

CONCLUSIONS:

Referred pain patterns provoked from intra-pelvic landmarks in women with CPP are consistent with sclerotomal sensory innervation. Magnification of referred pain patterns indicates allodynia and central sensitization. The results suggest that pain mapping can be used to evaluate and confirm the pain experience among women with CPP and contribute to diagnosis.

Study Design

Randomized double blind controlled clinical trial.Objective. To evaluate the pain relief effect of locally injected corticosteroid treatment in women with long-lasting sacral low back pain with onset during pregnancy.

Summary of Background Data

Pregnancy-related low back pain is a global problem. Almost 1 of 10 women still experienced disabling daily back pain 2 years after childbirth with high impact on the individual, family, and society. In spite of this, the sources of pain and effective treatment are uncertain.

Methods

Thirty-six women were allocated to injectiontreatment, with slow-release triamcinolone and lidocaine or saline and lidocaine, given at the sacrospinous ligament insertion on the ischial spine bilaterally with 4 weeks follow-up time. Primary outcome measure was reported pain intensity on visual analogue scale and secondary outcome measures number of pain-drawing locations and pain-provoking test results.'

Results

The triamcinolone treatment group had significantly reduced pain intensity, number of pain locations,and pain-provoking test results between baseline and follow-up as compared with the saline treatment group. The absolute median change of visual analogue scale score in the triamcinolone treatment group was 24 mm and in the saline group 4.5 mm (P‹0.05). A reducednumber of pain drawing locations was reported by16 of 18 women in the triamcinolone group as compared with 10 of 18 in the saline group (P‹0.05). In the triamcinolone treatment group, 17 of 18 women had an improved pain provocation test result as compared with 9 of 18 in the saline treatment group (P‹0.01).

Conclusion

The anatomic region around the sacrospinousligament insertion on the ischial spine is suggestedto be one source of long-lasting sacral low back pain withonset during pregnancy. The pain was relieved by slowrelease corticosteroid injection treatment to the ischial spine.

Background: Pregnancy-related low back and pelvic pain is a worldwide problem. A large proportion of women still experience disabling daily back pain 2 years after childbirth, resulting in major changes in activities and general well-being. In spite of this, the source of pain and effective treatment are uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the short-term effects on function of a single corticosteroid injection treatment to the ischiadic spine in women with persistent pregnancy-related pelvic pain (PPPP). Methods: Thirty-six women were allocated to injection treatment with slow-release triamcinolone and lidocain or saline and lidocain, given once at the sacrospinous ligament insertion on the ischiadic spine bilaterally with follow-up at 4 weeks. Outcome measures were Disability Rating Index (DRI), self-rated functional health (SF-36), gait speed and endurance (6MWT), and strength and endurance of trunk muscles (isometric trunk extensor and flexor tests). Results: Women in the triamcinolone group showed significantly improved DRI (p  =  0.046), 6MWT (p  =  0.016), and isometric trunk extensor tests (p  =  0.004), as compared with the saline group. Close co-variation was shown between improved function and reduced pain intensity. Conclusions: Improved function was achieved among women with PPPP after a single injection treatment with slow-release corticosteroid. The effect was positively correlated to the reduced pain intensity.