Importance of internal vaginal pelvic floor muscle exams for women with external lumbar/hip/pelvic girdle pain.

Introduction And Hypothesis: The relationship between external lumbar, hip, and/or pelvic girdle pain and internal vaginal pelvic floor myofascial pain is not well described. We assessed this relationship in a cohort of adult women.

Methods: The cohort included women ≥ 18 years old who received care for external lumbar, hip, and/or pelvic girdle pain (reported or elicited on physical examination) who then underwent internal vaginal myofascial levator ani pain assessments, in a tertiary care Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery pelvic pain clinic over a 2-year period (2013 and 2014).