Efficacy and factors of myofascial release therapy combined with electrical and magnetic stimulation in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and factors of myofascial release therapy combined with electrical and magnetic stimulation in the treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). A total of 79 female patients diagnosed with CPPS from January 2021 to December 2022 were prospectively analyzed. Every patient received 3 weeks of treatment which included myofascial release therapy combined with electrical and magnetic stimulation. The visual analog score (VAS) of pelvic floor muscle (PFM) trigger points (TrPs) and the changes in pelvic floor surface electromyography before and after treatment were compared. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of each outcome index. There were significant differences in VASs of muscle TrPs before and after treatment ( P < 0.05). For the surface electromyography of PFMs, the differences in pre-baseline rest, post-baseline rest, isometric contractions for muscle endurance evaluation, and coefficient of variation were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Linear regression analysis showed that disease course ( X 1 ), dyspareunia ( X 5 ), and urinary incontinence ( X 6 ) were influencing factors for the decline of pre-baseline rest ( r 5 = 1.067, R 2 = 0.089), post-baseline rest ( r 1 = 0.055, r 5 = 0.99, R 2 = 0.119), VASs of ischial spine ( r 5 = 0.916, R 2 = 0.102), obturator internus ( r 5 = 0.796, r 6 = −0.703, R 2 = 0.245), and pubococcygeus ( r 5 = 0.885, R 2 = 0.149) after treatment in the CPPS group. This study confirmed that individualized myofascial release therapy combined with electrical and magnetic stimulation has significant efficacy for patients with CPPS. At the same time, it is more effective for CPPS patients with longer course of disease, dyspareunia, and without urinary incontinence.