Electrotherapy and hydrotherapy in chronic pelvic pain

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16 Electrotherapy and hydrotherapy in chronic pelvic pain

Chapter Contents

Introduction

Goals of hydrotherapy and electrotherapy treatment in chronic pelvic pain

Modalities

Electrotherapy

Low-voltage electrical stimulation

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

Electroacupuncture

Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation

Magnetic and pulsed electromagnetic therapy

Diathermy and inductothermy

Pulsed short-wave indications

Ultrasound

Low-level laser therapy

Hydrotherapy

Balneotherapy and chronic pelvic pain

Case study 16.1

Electrotherapy

Mechanism of action and physiological effects

The galvanic current produces predictable electrochemical and physiological effects at the site of application (Jaskoviak 1993) (Table 16.1).

Table 16.1 The physiological and electrochemical effects of positive and negative poles

Positive pole (anode) Negative pole (cathode)
Electrochemical effects  
Attracts acids Attracts bases (alkaloids)
Attracts oxygen Attracts hydrogen
Promotes oxidation  
Physiological effects  
Stops haemorrhage Increases haemorrhage
Relieves acute inflammation Relieves chronic inflammation
Dehydrates/hardens tissue Congests/irritates tissue
Constricts arterioles Dilates arterioles
Decreases nerve irritability Increases nerve irritability

Low-voltage electrical stimulation

Low-voltage alternating current is a biphasic current produced with a low voltage and low amperage. There are a variety of biphasic waveforms such as rectangular, sawtooth and square. However, the sinusoidal current can be considered as representative. Unlike galvanic treatment the biphasic waveform does not produce any polarity effect (Starkey 1999).

Indications

Intravaginal low-volt alternating current (LVAC) application has demonstrated improved pelvic floor functioning and re-education in chronic pelvic pain with a reduction in pain (Skilling & Petros 2004, de Oliveira Bernardes et al. 2005). Levator ani spasm has also demonstrated improvement from intravaginal application (Fitzwater et al. 2003). LVAC has shown benefit in a variety of conditions that may be the underlying cause of chronic pelvic pain such as chronic prostatitis (Iunda et al. 1990, Pryima et al. 1996) and salpingitis (Evseeva et al. 2006). Fallopian tube postsurgical application has demonstrated improvement in fertility and pain reduction if applied early after surgery (Tereshin et al. 2008). Chronic prostatitis may benefit from improved non-surgical drainage via transurethral electrical stimulation (Gus’kov et al. 1997).

Intravaginal electrical stimulation in chronic pelvic pain

Twenty-four women with chronic pelvic pain with no identifiable cause underwent ten sessions of intravaginal electrical stimulation (8 Hz frequency, pulse train 1 msec, intensity to patient tolerance). Applications were administered 2–3 times weekly for 30 minutes. Visual analogue scale of pain was evaluated pre- and post-treatment and at the end of the treatment series. Follow-up pain evaluation was performed at 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 7 months. Pain reduction was statistically significant with fewer complaints of dyspareunia and benefit was retained at the 7-month evaluation (de Oliveira Bernardes et al. 2005).

The therapeutic re-education of muscular activity is largely the province of LVAC (Yamanishi & Yasuda 1998). In this regard conditions associated with chronic pelvic pain and disorders such as stress incontinence and sexual dysfunction such as dyspareunia and vaginismus have shown benefit from low-voltage sinusoidal treatment (Castro et al. 2004, Yamanishi & Yasuda 1998, Nappi et al. 2003, Castro et al. 2008, Lorenzo et al. 2008, Santos et al. 2009, Eyjólfsdóttir et al. 2009). Interestingly vaginal electrical stimulation may not actually cause pelvic muscle contraction directly suggesting other mechanisms of action may be present to explain the therapeutic effect (Bø & Maanum 1996). Biofeedback (see Chapter 13) along with intravaginal electrical stimulation has shown benefit in pelvic floor re-education and symptom reduction and may be a worthwhile direction to explore to understand these benefits (Bendaña et al. 2009).

Electroacupuncture

Electroacupuncture involves a combination of electrical stimulation device and TENS with insertion of thin trigger point needles. Electrodes are attached to inserted needles and electrical stimulation is applied to sensation or beyond to muscular contraction. The proposed mechanism of action is through modulation of ergoreceptors and somatic modulation of sympathetic nerve activity (Stener-Victorin et al. 2009).

Electroacupuncture has shown benefit in chronic prostatitis, prostodynia and chronic pelvic pain associated with those diagnoses. Electroacupuncture outperformed sham electroacupuncture and yielded improvement in pain scores as well as measurements of inflammatory substances in prostatic massage (Lee & Lee 2009). Cases that were refractory to medical treatment have also demonstrated significant response when treatment was directed to utilize the electroacupuncture in a local fashion to reduce prostatic congestion (Ikeuchi & Iguchi 1994).

Electroacupuncture has also demonstrated benefit via reduction of high muscle sympathetic nerve activity in polycystic ovary syndrome with associated symptomatic improvement (Stener-Victorin et al. 2009). Combined with moxabustion electroacupuncture has also shown benefit in chronic pelvic infection disease (Wang 1989). Both ear and body electroacupuncture have demonstrated benefit in dysmenorrhoea associated with endometriosis (Jin et al. 2009).

Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation

Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) involves the insertion of a fine needle electrode immediately superior to the medial malleolus. A grounding electrode is applied to the same foot medial to the calcaneus. Electrical stimulation, galvanic or sinusoidal, is applied until flexion of the phalanges occurs. This electrode placement allows for stimulation of the sacral plexus.

The therapeutic rationale of PTNS is primarily for pain and symptom management, and is not directed at underlying conditions. For this reason the therapeutic response dissipates with discontinuation over time. The therapeutic response requires weekly treatment for up to 12 weeks and may also require periodic maintenance therapy (van der Pal et al. 2006, Zhao et al. 2008). The need for ongoing therapeutic impression has led to consideration of implantable devices (van Belken 2007). The current approach includes periodic maintenance treatment every 21 days to maintain the gains of the initial 12 week course (MacDiarmid et al. 2010).

Similar methods of reflex electrical stimulation for dysfunction not associated directly with the anatomic region are also applied in other conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia, occipital neuralgia, angina and peripheral ischaemia (Lou 2000). The therapeutic impression appears to be beyond the local reflex influence of the sacral plexus. Research into the physiological response to PTNS for overactive bladder has demonstrated changes in cortical somatosensory pathways (Finazzi-Agro et al. 2009).

PTNS has been found to be effective for chronic pelvic pain as well as a variety of associated diagnoses (van Balken et al. 2003, Finazzi-Agro et al. 2009) including chronic prostatitis, interstitial cystitis, urinary incontinence, faecal incontinence, various types of lower urinary dysfunction in children, overactive bladder and various types of neurogenic bladder pain (Capitanucci et al. 2009, Kabay et al. 2009). An important theoretical consideration is that the needle of PTNS is inserted at the site of the acupuncture point San Yin Jiao, Spleen 6. Spleen 6 is an important acupuncture point for abdominal and pelvic complaints. Perhaps PTNS is more accurately described as a specific electro-acupuncture protocol.

Magnetic and pulsed electromagnetic therapy

Magnet therapy is the application of static or pulsed magnetic fields to the patient. Magnetic application can be applied as a static or electromagnetic field of varying Gauss strength. Early ideas as to the mechanism of action focused upon blood microcirculation enhancement via magnetic field influence upon the iron in haemoglobin. However, the mechanism of action relative to microcirculation appears to be influenced through calcium ion channels (Okano & Ohkubo 2001, Skalak & Morris 2008). This influence may be through inflammation reduction via capillary constriction and may influence neurological signalling of pain (Gmitrov et al. 2002). There are several magnetotherapy units that also apply concurrent laser and electrical stimulation.

Indications

Magnetotherapy alone has shown benefit in urinary stress incontinence and chronic abacterial prostatitis, and some research has demonstrated benefit for chronic pelvic pain syndrome with others showing limited or no benefit (Kirschner-Hermanns & Jakse 2003, Leippold et al. 2005, Shaplygin et al. 2006, Nei˘mark et al. 2009). Magnetotherapy combined with laser and electrical stimulation has also shown long-term remission in chronic prostatitis patients (Alekseev & Golubchikov 2002). Some reduction in uterine myoma has also been demonstrated in long-term follow-up after a series of magnetotherapy treatments when compared with controls (Kulishova et al. 2005).

Application has consistently demonstrated improvement in pelvic floor functioning when applied in incontinence (Takahashi & Kitamura 2003, Kirschner-Hermanns & Jakse 2007). Chronic salpingitis has also shown positive response to magnetotherapy, particularly with the addition of iodine-bromine balneotherapy, discussed later in this chapter (Iarustovskaia et al. 2005). Infectious prostatitis similarly demonstrates magnetotherapy response when combined with chymotrypsin galvanic electrophoresis (Churakov et al. 2007).

Diathermy and inductothermy

Diathermy literally means ‘through heat’. The depth of penetration of the therapeutic heat is one of the deepest produced by physiotherapy modalities (Jaskoviak 1993). The heat is generated by the resistance of the tissues to the passage of the current. Inductothermy is another term for an inductance-type applicator of diathermy. For a period of time microwave diathermy units were produced but have demonstrated some deleterious health risk and their clinical use is uncommon today. Note: Shortwave diathermy is discussed in this section, whereas microwave diathermy is not (Prentice 1998, Starkey 1999).