Psychosomatic group treatment helps women with chronic pelvic pain

This study evaluates group treatment for women suffering from chronic pelvi c pain. The concept of group treatment was based on psychosomatic and physi otherapeutical principles and on cognitive and operant behavioral therapy E ach group was composed of up to six women suffering from chronic pelvic pai n, and hero physiotherapists. Each group treatment session lasted 2.5h per week for a period of 10 weeks. The women completed questionnaires and pain drawings four times during the treatment period from the beginning of the p eriod till 15 months later During 13 group treatment periods 53 women accom plished the treatment. Before the treatment the women had experienced pain for an average period of 5 year and 9 months (ranging from 6 months to 22 y ears). The women's descriptions of the changes derived from group treatment were analyzed according to the Grounded Theory Method. A methodical triang ulation of quantitative and qualitative data as well as analyzes of the dra wings were applied. One year after the end of the treatment, 39% of the women were pain-free Th e average level of pain measured according to the Visual Analog Stale was r educed from 2.8 to 0.9 (p < 0.01). The intake rate of analgesics was reduce d from an average of 8.5 units to 0.9 units per week (p<0.01). Furthermore a reduction in the use of the National Health Service and increases in gain ful employment were registered, By means of the Grounded Theory Analysis a model of the development process was elaborated. The process begins with th e development of self-knowledge, followed by the women assuming self respon sibility for her own life and performing self-activeness. During the proces s the woman increases her feeling of self-control and personal mastery of h er emotions . The women's pain drawings improved, resulting in more detaile d drawings, the color intensity abating the extent of pains declining, and the outlines blurring. In conclusion this kind of group treatment brings the women relief from the ir pain thus reducing the use of the the National Health Service by women s uffering from chronic pelvic pain. The women also experience a positive psy chological development. This method of treatment, in which a synergetic com bination of physical and psychological treatment mutually enhance the effec t of the treatment, will probably have a beneficial impact on the treatment of other patients suffering from acute or chronic physical or psychologica l traumas or from chronic palm.