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Interventions for vaginismus.

H McGuire¹, K Hawton

¹Public Health Sciences, St. George's Hospital Medical School, Level 6, Hunter Wing, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK, SW17 0RE. h.mcguire@sghms.ac.uk

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

|June 19, 2001

Summary

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See all related articles

Limited evidence supports vaginismus treatments despite commonality. More controlled trials are needed to compare therapies against waiting lists and other interventions for this psychosexual condition.

Area of Science:

Reproductive Medicine
Psychosexual Health
Clinical Trials

Background:

Vaginismus involves involuntary vaginal muscle contractions, causing painful or impossible sexual intercourse.
It is a prevalent female psychosexual disorder.
Previous therapeutic strategies lack robust evidence from controlled studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of vaginismus treatments.
To assess the impact of partner participation on treatment outcomes.

Main Methods:

Comprehensive literature search of multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL) and journals.
Inclusion of controlled trials comparing vaginismus treatments against placebo, standard care, or waiting list controls.
Data extraction verified by trial investigators.

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Main Results:

Only two controlled trials were identified, with data available from just one.
The available trial did not show significant differences between different forms of systematic desensitization.

Conclusions:

There is a significant lack of high-quality evidence from controlled trials on vaginismus treatment effectiveness.
Further rigorous research, including comparisons with waiting list controls, is essential.
The role of partner participation requires further investigation in controlled settings.