Specialized physiotherapy may improve sexual health in women with systemic sclerosis
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Specialized physical therapy may prevent deterioration and improve sexual function in female patients with systemic sclerosis and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, according to data presented at the EULAR 2022 Congress.
“It is interesting because systemic sclerosis and myopathies are rare, complex and serious rheumatic conditions,” Thea Vliet Vlieland, MD, PhD, vice president of EULAR Heath Professionals in Rheumatology, and professor of orthopedics at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), in the Netherlands, said at a EULAR 2022 Congress press conference. “They have not only a very important medical aspect, but they have a profound impact on patients’ overall functioning and quality of life, and that includes intimate relationships and the impact of diseases on sexuality.”
To analyze the impact of specialized physiotherapy in patients with SSc and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), the researchers enrolled 12 women with SSc and four women with IIM in a pilot study. Eligible patients were required to meet the American College of Rheumatology/EULAR 2013 criteria for SSc, and the Bohan/Peter 1975 criteria for polymyositis/dermatomyositis.
Patients were divided into groups based on their “possibilities” and willingness to complete the therapy program. Each group included six patients with SSc and two patients with IIM. The intervention group underwent an 8-week tailored program that included pelvic floor exercise and “physiotherapy of musculoskeletal problems subjectively limiting the patient’s sexual function,” the researchers wrote. The control group received no specialized therapy.
All included patients filled in questionnaires at baseline and 8 weeks.
Sexual function appraisals included the Female Sexual Function Index, Brief Index of Sexual Functioning for Women, Sexual Quality of Life-Female, Health Assessment Questionnaire, Medical Outcomes Short Form-36 and Beck’s Depression Inventory-II. Patients were assessed by a physician and a physiotherapist at baseline.
Patients in the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the Female Sexual Function Index (P = .043), Brief Index of Sexual Functioning for Women (P = .04), the Health Assessment Questionnaire (P = .018) and Medical Outcomes Short Form-36.
“This study is unique because it not only identifies a problem, but also evaluates an intervention to support patients and coping with sexual problems relating to their rheumatic disease,” Vlieland said. “I think these results are very promising in particular because they are concerned with an intervention to counteract the deleterious impact of these diseases on sexual function.”
Reference:
EULAR 2022 Press Conference. https://congress.eular.org/press_conferences.cfm?v=2. June 2, 2022. Accessed June 2, 2022.
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Heřmánková B. Effect of an 8-week specialized physical therapy program on sexual health in female patients with systemic sclerosis and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: A pilot study. Presented at: EULAR 2022 Congress; June 1-4, 2022 (virtual meeting).
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