Reduction in vulvar pain and dyspareunia; improvement in overall sexual function
TUESDAY, Feb. 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Acupuncture seems feasible for treatment of women with vulvodynia, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
Judith M. Schlaeger, Ph.D., from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues examined the feasibility and potential effects of using a standardized acupuncture protocol for the treatment of vulvodynia. Participants included 36 women who were randomized to the acupuncture group (two times per week for five weeks) or wait-list control group. Vulvar pain was assessed as the primary outcome, and the secondary outcome was sexual function.
The researchers found that reports of vulvar pain and dyspareunia were significantly reduced in the acupuncture group. Changes in the aggregate Female Sexual Function Index suggested significant improvement in sexual functioning among those receiving acupuncture compared with controls. There was no significant increase in sexual desire, sexual arousal, lubrication, ability to orgasm, or sexual satisfaction with acupuncture.
“The acupuncture protocol was feasible and in this small sample appeared to reduce vulvar pain and dyspareunia with an increase in overall sexual function for women with vulvodynia,” the authors write.
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