Somatocognitive therapy of women with provoked vulvodynia: a pilot study.

Background And Aims: Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a common persistent pain state among women in the Western world, causing dyspareunia, psychological distress and challenges against fertility. Therapies aimed at relieving pain (physiotherapy) and psychological distress (psychotherapy) are often recommended, sometimes in multimodal combinations. We have previously developed somatocognitive therapy (SCT) as a multimodal intervention, administered by a physiotherapist, to a different group of patients with gynecological pain, i.

Somatocognitive therapy in the management of chronic gynaecological pain. A review of the historical background and results of a current approach.

Unlabelled: Historic background and development of our somatocognitive approach Mensendieck physiotherapy of the Oslo School is a tradition of physiotherapy founded by the American physician Bess Mensendieck, a contemporary and fellow student of Sigmund Freud at the Paris School of Neurology. It builds on the principles of functional anatomy and the theories of motor learning. We have further developed the theory and practice from this physiotherapy tradition, challenged by the enormous load of patients with longstanding, incapacitating pain on western health care systems, by seeking to incorporate inspirational ideas from body oriented dynamic psychotherapy and cognitive psychotherapy.

Pain, psychological distress and motor pattern in women with provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) - symptom characteristics and therapy suggestions.

Background And Aims: Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) represent a longstanding pain syndrome that affects large numbers of women worldwide. However, no standardized guidelines for PVD treatment exist. In a cross-sectional pilot study we examined 30 PVD patients on multidimensional parameters including pain, psychological distress and quality of movement, in order to obtain a broader understanding of the somatic and psychological symptoms in PVD, and for the future to develop better interventions.

Participation in the workforce after a traumatic brain injury: a matter of control.

Purpose: This study sought to explore individual experience in developing a mastery of daily activities and roles after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the objective of returning to work.

Method: Eight 30-60-year-old men, employed at the time of injury, were each interviewed three times over a 6-month period. Ten to 21 months after the injuries, four participants had returned to work at least part time.

Continuing improvement of chronic pelvic pain in women after short-term Mensendieck somatocognitive therapy: results of a 1-year follow-up study.

Objectives: Chronic pelvic pain is a common source of disability among women in the western world. Here we report that 3 months of Mensendieck somatocognitive intervention in chronic pelvic pain patients was followed by continued improvements of outcomes at 1-year follow-up in a randomized, controlled study design.

Methods: Forty women with chronic pelvic pain unexplained by pelvic pathology were randomly assigned to 2 groups: (1) standard gynecologic treatment and (2) gynecologic treatment plus somatocognitive therapy aimed at reducing physical pain by changing posture, movement, and respiration patterns.

Posture, movement patterns, and body awareness in women with chronic pelvic pain.

Objective: Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common cause of infirmity but is still poorly understood. We studied the clinical characteristics, including body awareness, of 60 women with this diagnosis compared to those of healthy controls in an effort to understand its pathophysiology and to develop a more efficient treatment protocol.

Methods: After prior gynecologic and psychometric evaluation, the women were examined with the Standardized Mensendieck Test to evaluate posture and movement patterns.

Reliability and validity of a standardized Mensendieck physiotherapy test (SMT).

A standardized test was developed to evaluate posture, movement, gait, sitting posture, and respiration of patients with psychosomatic disorders, based on the Mensendieck principles of observation and analysis of motor function. To validate the test and to make a comprehensive body examination of a defined group of patients, it was applied in a study of women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP, ICD10 F45.4).

Mensendieck somatocognitive therapy as treatment approach to chronic pelvic pain: results of a randomized controlled intervention study.

Objective: The etiology of chronic pelvic pain is disputed and multifactorial. We studied the effect of Mensendieck somatocognitive therapy aimed at reducing physical pain by changing posture, movement and respiration patterns combined with standard gynecological treatment.

Study Design: Women with chronic pelvic pain unexplained by pelvic pathology were randomized into 2 groups: (1) standard gynecological treatment and (2) gynecological treatment plus somatocognitive therapy.

Folic acid treatment reduces elevated plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine in hyperhomocysteinaemic subjects.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of NO synthase, has been suggested to be a novel risk factor for endothelial dysfunction. It has previously been reported that hyperhomocysteinaemia may be associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation and reduced plasma level of NO-derived endproducts (NOx). In the present study, plasma levels of arginine and ADMA were measured in twenty-one healthy control subjects, and in twenty-one hyperhomocysteinaemic subjects before and after 6 weeks and 12 months of folic acid supplementation, and compared with previously measured plasma NOx values in the hyperhomocysteinaemic subjects.

Hypertension in relation to nitric oxide, asymmetric dimethylarginine, and inflammation: different patterns in heart transplant recipients and individuals with essential hypertension.

Background: Most heart transplant (HTx) recipients develop hypertension, characterized by increased peripheral vascular tone and endothelial dysfunction. Reduced levels of nitric oxide (NO) have been found in essential hypertension, and herein we investigated the possible role of altered concentrations of NO in posttransplant hypertension.

Methods: Plasma levels of the NO-derived end products NO2(-) + NO3(-), the endogenous inhibitor of NO synthase asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), and the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha were examined in 65 stable hypertensive long-term (6 years [range 1-13]) survivors of HTx.