{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T01:19:11Z","timestamp":1780881551596,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Walter de Gruyter GmbH","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,10,25]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"j_sjpain-2019-0011_s_001\">\n                    <jats:title>Background and aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a common persistent pain state among women in the Western world, causing dyspareunia, psychological distress and challenges against fertility. Therapies aimed at relieving pain (physiotherapy) and psychological distress (psychotherapy) are often recommended, sometimes in multimodal combinations. We have previously developed somatocognitive therapy (SCT) as a multimodal intervention, administered by a physiotherapist, to a different group of patients with gynecological pain, i.e. chronic (unprovoked) pelvic pain (CPP, also referred to as low abdominal pain). In a randomized, controlled study this intervention was shown to reduce pain experience and improve motor function or body awareness. Here we present the results of a clinical follow-up pilot study with 30 women with PVD, applying SCT administered by third year bachelor students in physiotherapy. Main outcome was pain experience, secondary outcomes were psychological distress and motor functions of the patients.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"j_sjpain-2019-0011_s_002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Thirty women diagnosed with PVD were recruited from a tertiary university hospital clinic of gynecology, and included in the follow-up pilot study at an out-patient physiotherapy clinic. Each patient participated in 10\u201314 therapy sessions over 6 weeks. The students were supervised by an experienced physiotherapist with extensive background in this clinical area, who also performed two clinical sessions with each of the patients at the end of the treatment period. Before therapy, the patients were evaluated for pain experience (visual analogue scale of pain, VAS), psychological distress (Tampa scale of kinesiophobia, TSK) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) as well as body function (standardized Mensendieck test, SMT). Statistical analyzes were performed by using the average\u2009\u00b1\u2009standard deviation, statistical significance of changes calculated by means of the\n                      <jats:italic>t<\/jats:italic>\n                      -test.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"j_sjpain-2019-0011_s_003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Average pain score before therapy were 7.77\u2009\u00b1\u20091.98, after 6 weeks of intervention 4.17\u2009\u00b1\u20092.07 and at 6 months\u2019 follow-up 1.66\u2009\u00b1\u20091.08 (average\u2009\u00b1\u2009standard deviation), changes being significant below\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&lt;\u20090.01 level. Secondary outcome variables assessing psychological distress and sub optimal motor patterns were also significantly improved. For example, anxiety and depression scores were reduced by approximately 40%, and respiration pattern score improved by almost 80%.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"j_sjpain-2019-0011_s_004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Multimodal somatocognitive therapy reduced levels of pain and psychological distress, and improved motor functions in women with PVD after 6 weeks of interventions. All variables were further improved at 6 months\u2019 follow-up. Thus, somatocognitive therapy may be a useful treatment option for patients with PVD. However, there are limitations to this study, since there was no control group, and suboptimal blinding during assessment of the data.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"j_sjpain-2019-0011_s_005\">\n                    <jats:title>Implications<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Somatocognitive therapy may be a useful tool when treating PVD patients. More studies, in particular RCTs, should be performed to further evaluate this intervention and corroborate the results from this pilot study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1515\/sjpain-2019-0011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,14]],"date-time":"2019-08-14T05:05:57Z","timestamp":1565759157000},"page":"725-732","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Somatocognitive therapy of women with provoked vulvodynia: a pilot study"],"prefix":"10.1515","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Gro Killi","family":"Haugstad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences , Oslo Metropolitan University , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Slawomir","family":"Wojniusz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences , Oslo Metropolitan University , Oslo , Norway"},{"name":"Cognitive Health in Trauma and Disease Research Group, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology , Oslo University Hospital , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rolf","family":"Kirschner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Gynecology , Oslo University Hospital , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Unni","family":"Kirste","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pain Management and Research , Oslo University Hospital , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ingvild","family":"Lilleheie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences , Oslo Metropolitan University , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tor S.","family":"Haugstad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pain Study Group, Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital , Oslo , Norway"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"374","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025120909571747261_j_sjpain-2019-0011_ref_001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reed B, Harlow SD, Sen A. Prevalence and demographic characteristics of vulvodynia in a population-based sample. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2012;206:170.e1\u20139.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajog.2011.08.012"},{"key":"2025120909571747261_j_sjpain-2019-0011_ref_002","unstructured":"Moyal-Barracco M, Lynch PJ. ISSVD terminology and classification of vulvodynia: a historical perspective. J Reprod Med 2004;49:772\u20137."},{"key":"2025120909571747261_j_sjpain-2019-0011_ref_003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Nunns D. Vulval pain syndromes. BJOG 2000;107:1185\u201393.","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1471-0528.2000.tb11606.x"},{"key":"2025120909571747261_j_sjpain-2019-0011_ref_004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sadownik L, Seal BN, Brotto LA. Provoked vestibulodynia-women\u2019s experience of participating in a multidisciplinary vulvodynia program. 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