Pelvic Health Physical Therapy: An Effective Approach to Prevent Radiation-Induced Vaginal Stenosis

Treatments of  gynecological cancers  as well as anorectal cancers typically involve pelvic radiation therapy or brachytherapy.  A commonly observed side effect of RT/BT is vaginal stenosis contributing to painful sexual relations and in time abstinence. Many women are advised on using vaginal dilators  after RT/BT to prevent vaginal shortening and stenosis, but women fail to use them due to fear, uncertainty or apprehension of pain.

Pelvic health physical therapy at Inner Dynamics Physical Therapy  provides an effective and promising intervention for women in a warm and friendly environment.  Using dilators independently without specific instruction or attempting to implement dilator use  after stenosis has occurred is daunting and at times painful. There is no doubt this condition affects a woman’s psychological state,  and to have the expectation of prevention or correction of vaginal stenosis independently limits the carry over or compliance of using vaginal dilators. Pelvic health physical therapy guides a woman to understanding their anatomy of  their pelvic floor muscles, vaginal canal and benefits of dilators and appropriate use.

Research supports the efficacy of physical therapy for pelvic floor dysfunction with gynecological cancer survivors (Yang et al). At Inner Dynamics, each woman is educated on their pelvic floor muscles and tissue and a thorough evaluation  will assess each woman’s posture and strength and tissue mobility. Education on the purpose of dilators and usage of the appropriate sized dilators in effective comfortable positions will be discussed. Developing a specific protocol with using the dilators, in addition to deep breathing and relaxation,  stretching and appropriate strengthening will also be implemented. Progression in dilator width will gradually be introduced.

In some cases manual therapy which provides gentle soft tissue massage and stretching to the pelvic region internally and externally are effective. Instruction in muscle relaxation  especially with insertion of dilators will be facilitated. Biofeedback for the pelvic floor muscles is an option to train woman on relaxation with insertion and progression of dilators. The skilled therapists at Inner Dynamics Physical Therapy  work with woman one-on one for 45-60 minutes and in some cases only one time a week to every other week. Only a few sessions of therapy may be required but working closely with our clients and their physicians, painful sex and vaginal stenosis will be reduced.

Thank you from our team at Inner Dynamics Physical Therapy