Interstitial cystitis, pelvic pain, and the relationship to myofascial pain and dysfunction: a report on four patients

Treatment of chronic pelvic pain (CPP), interstitial cystitis (IC), prostatodynia, and irritative voiding symptoms can be frustrating for both patients and physicians. The usual approaches do not always produce the desired results. We found that when we treated myofascial trigger points (TrP) in pelvic floor muscles as well as the gluteus, piriform, infraspinatus, and supraspinatus muscles, symptoms improved or resolved. Various palpation techniques were used to isolate active myofascial TrPs in these muscles of four patients with severe CPP, IC, and irritative voiding symptoms. Injection and stretch techniques for these muscles were performed. Visual twitch responses at the skin surface and in the muscles were used to verify successful needle piercing of a TrP. The patients were asked to verbally describe exactly where the flash of distant pain was felt, a process that permitted an accurate recording of the precise pattern of pain referred by that TrP. The findings involved with the four patients substantiate the need for myofascial evaluation prior to considering more invasive treatments for IC, CPP, and irritative voiding symptoms. Referred pain and motor activity to the pelvic floor muscles (sphincters), as well as to the pelvic organs, can be the sole cause of IC, CPP, and irritative voiding dysfunction and certainly needs further investigation.