Patients and methods: In this prospective randomized controlled trial, 126 patients with female sexual dysfunction after vaginal delivery were included between October 2022 and December 2023. The participants were randomly allocated to receive either trigger point release and structured PFMT (63 females; mean age, 30.4±2.8 years; range, 25 to 35 years) or only structured PFMT (63 females; mean age, 31.4±3.1 years; range, 24 to 35 years). The primary outcome was Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) score of the participants. Secondary outcomes were Glazer pelvic floor electromyography and the Visual Analog Scale score of urogenital pain map, pelvic floor muscle pain map, and bladder pain map.

Results: The observation group manifested a significant improvement in the FSFI total score and each individual subitem compared to the control group (p<0.01). In addition, in Glazer pelvic floor electromyography, the observation group exhibited a significant decrease in pre-resting value and post-resting value compared to the control group after treatment (p<0.01). Additionally, there was significant decrease in Visual Analog Scale scores in the observation group compared to the control group (p<0.01). Moreover, after therapy, the observation group demonstrated a significantly greater enhancement in pelvic floor muscle strength than the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Pelvic myofascial trigger point release combined with structured PFMT is an efficient treatment for female sexual dysfunction after vaginal delivery compared to structured PFMT alone. Keywords : Myofascial trigger point, pelvic floor, physical therapy, sexual dysfunction