Orthopedic Intervention for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome

The primary purpose of this study is to establish if an individualized, impairment-based orthopedic intervention (IOI) can improve pelvic floor function and pain in women with Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP). Dry needling will be used as a part of the IOI to intervene upon peripheral muscles stiffness previously found to be more stiff in this population compared to healthy controls. This study is intended to initiate a line of research aimed at assessing widely used orthopedic physical therapy practices to address orthopedic impairments and muscle stiffness differences in women with CPP potentially decreasing time to care for a widely experienced condition. This study will guide potential future studies aimed at intervening upon a larger population and establishing the characteristics of participants who respond favorable to orthopedic care alone. First, this study will establish if this type of intervention has an effect on pelvic floor function and symptoms, pain, and muscle stiffness, all of which are often priorities of treatment for PHPTs treating CPP. A single-subject design is well suited in studying an intervention on such a heterogeneous patient population that does not currently have physical therapy treatment subclassifications. Future studies could help to establish possible subclassifications of CPP to include an orthopedic or peripheral muscle stiffness classification and empower therapists with associations between peripheral orthopedic and myofascial dysfunction and pelvic floor function and pain. This line of research could help prioritize which patients require specialty care, who could initiate care with an orthopedic PT, and who may resolve dysfunction and pain with orthopedic PT alone.