A Pilot Study Assessing the Feasibility of Using Clitoral Vibrators to Aid Vaginal Dilator Therapy in Women Presenting to Psychosexual Services With Vaginismus.
A Pilot Study Assessing the Feasibility of Using Clitoral Vibrators to Aid Vaginal Dilator Therapy in Women Presenting to Psychosexual Services With Vaginismus.
The acceptability of vulvar vibration therapy has been evaluated in women with vulvodynia, and found to be acceptable, however has not been assessed in women with a primary complaint of vaginismus.
This proposed study looks at the feasibility and acceptability of using clitoral vibration therapy, alongside current therapy, for women with vaginismus. It is likely that many, if not most, of these women will also have an element of vulvodynia. The investigators propose that the use of external clitoral or vulval vibration therapy is likely to be acceptable in most women with vaginismus, based on acceptability of vulvar vibration therapy in women with vulvodynia.
It is proposed that vibrator therapy may help women with female sexual dysfunction to use vaginal dilators.
This is a nonrandomized controlled trial, with the initial cluster of patients receiving standard therapy, and the second cluster receiving standard therapy plus vibrator. Recruitment will be an initial 15 participants who will receive standard therapy, and then another 15 who will receive an external vibrator.
This study will take place over approximately 12 months. Enrollment of patients will be from a joint psychosexual clinic led by a medical doctor and a clinical psychologist. Female patients are referred to this clinic by General Practitioners, from within the Sexual Health service, or via Gynaecologists, frequently with complaint of difficulty or pain with penetrative sex. Exclusion criteria will be: patients unable/ unwilling to consent, transgender male or on testosterone therapy, unable to understand written and/or verbal English, current dermtatological skin conditions requiring active treatment, genital herpes simplex virus within 3 months, or not reporting symptoms of vaginismus with no evidence of vaginismus on clinical examination.
Trial information will be given at the initial appointment. If the patient wishes to enrol, than an initial baseline questionnaire will be given, and a follow up questionnaire will be filled out by phone contact at 3-4 months afterward the initial consultation at the patients consent.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: