Pelvic Floor Myofascial Pain With Palpation and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms

IMPORTANCE: In women with pelvic floor disorders, pelvic floor myofascial pain with palpation is associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, but the prevalence in community-dwelling women is unknown. OBJECTIVES: Our study describes the prevalence of pelvic pain with palpation in community-dwelling women and its association with bladder health and symptoms. STUDY DESIGN: A subset of adult women from a large population-based, regionally representative cohort across 8 geographic regions of the United States was examined for pain with palpation of the obturator internus and levator ani muscles. Participants were not excluded on the basis of pain or urinary symptoms at baseline. Bladder health and urinary symptoms were measured using validated questionnaires. Linear and Poisson regression were used to examine associations between baseline pain and changes in bladder health and symptoms at follow-up. RESULTS: Of 502 participants, 56% had pain (46% mild [1-3/10], 8% moderate [4-6/10], 2% severe [7-10]; mean 1.1±1.6) on examination. At baseline, higher pain scores were associated with worse bladder function (β, -1.4, CI, -2.6, -0.1), and greater urinary symptoms (β, 0.4, CI, 0.1, 0.8). Baseline pain on palpation was associated with the development of new bothersome urinary symptoms (β, 1.1, CI, 1.0, 1.2) and painful urinary symptoms (β, 1.2, CI, 1.0, 1.3) over 1-2 years. CONCLUSION: Pain with palpation of the pelvic floor musculature is common in community-dwelling women and is significantly associated with urinary symptoms at baseline and with new-onset urinary symptoms over time. Pelvic muscle pain with palpation may be important to consider in the assessment of factors associated with urinary symptoms and as a precursor to bladder pain.