A Pilot Study Investigating the Use of a Therapeutic Wand in Addition to Physiotherapy for Bladder Pain Syndrome
Condition: Painful Bladder Syndrome
MeSH terms: Cystitis, Interstitial; Syndrome
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Bladder pain syndrome is a condition where pain is experienced when the bladder fills with
      urine and eases briefly when the bladder empties. There can also be a constant need to
      urgently empty the bladder.

      The internal pelvic floor muscles in people with bladder pain syndrome can be tense and
      painful, and relaxing and stretching them may improve symptoms; reducing bladder pain,
      urgency and how often people have to empty their bladder.

      This pelvic floor release is done by specialist physiotherapists.Therapeutic wands, such as
      the TheraWand®, are used routinely throughout the United Kingdom to allow people to relax and
      stretch their pelvic floor themselves. Using a therapeutic wand has been shown to be safe and
      to reduce pelvic pain, improve bladder and bowel symptoms and relax the pelvic floor muscles.
      However, this research was conducted mostly in men with pelvic pain.

      The aim of this study is to find out if using a therapeutic wand at home as well as having a
      specialist physiotherapist massage the pelvic floor gives any added benefit than just having
      the physiotherapy treatment. The investigators hope to find out if the therapeutic wand gives
      women a way of managing their symptoms independently in their own homes.
    

Detailed description: 
      A volunteer sample of ten women will be recruited and randomised into two groups, with
      descriptive analysis of their demographics at baseline. Both groups will receive six weeks of
      standard pelvic floor myofascial release by a specialist physiotherapist and one group will
      also use a therapeutic wand twice weekly at home. Outcome measures of bladder urgency, pain,
      health related quality of life and the perceived effect and ease of therapeutic wand use will
      be measured weekly for six weeks of treatment and then six weeks following treatment. A diary
      of therapeutic wand use, release exercises and medication use will also be kept for 3 months.
      Analysis of any significant difference in symptom change between the two groups and of
      subjective ease of wand use will then occur and inform the development of a randomised
      controlled trial.
    

Intervention name(s): Therapeutic Wand; Routine physiotherapy control
Intervention type(s): Device; Other
Intervention description(s): The therapeutic wand will be used to apply a gentle caudad pressure on the pelvic floor, encouraging a release and gentle stretch of the muscles. The participants will follow a protocol of sweeping gently along one side then the other to find tender or tight areas, and then to apply the wand to relax and stretch the muscles for up to 5 minutes in total, twice weekly for the duration of the study.; This group will receive standard specialist physiotherapy intervention for bladder pain syndrome as stated in the arm descriptor, and will not use the therapeutic wand.
Other intervention name(s): TheraWand
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment