Impact of Early Physiotherapy on Pain, Quality of Life, Pelvic Floor Function, and Sexual Health Post-Episiotomy

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Gynecological; Surgery (Previous), Causing Obstructed Labor

In brief

Surgical incision of the perineum and the posterior vaginal wall during a vaginal delivery (episiotomy) is among the most common surgical procedures performed in obstetrics. On the condition of having been performed correctly and in certain situations, episiotomy can be beneficial for a mother in decreasing the risk of a serious perineum injury. The benefit for a foetus can lie in acceleration of the final stage of delivery in the event of acute foetal distress. Many adverse effects are however connected to episiotomy. The morbidity connected to episiotomy can affect physical, mental, and social well-being of women during immediate as well as long-term post-partum periods. Currently, there are no universal standards that would describe and recommend physiotherapy for women following episiotomy during the first days, weeks, and months after a delivery. Care about the wound and the resulting scar after giving birth with episiotomy is an important topic because clinical experience shows that scars in the perineal area can have negative effects on the function of the pelvic floor muscles, on perineum pains, sexual health, and on mental well-being of a woman. Treatment of women with perineal wounds therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach, in which doctors, physiotherapists, and other medical professionals should be aware of the impact of a perineal scar on the quality of woman's life. Treatment or perineal scars, external genitalia, and the pelvic floor together with a targeted education of women in individual care after their scars should be part of evidence-based practice.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT06568406
Run by: Brno University Hospital
People needed: 250
Starts: 2024-10-01
Expected to finish: 2026-12-31
Last updated by the study team: 2025-02-05

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 40. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

female aged 18 to 40
following an uncomplicated mediolateral episiotomy
primipara at term with the cephalic occiput anterior position of the foetus
signature of the informed consent and understanding of the study protocol

You may not qualify if…

premature birth prior to 37+0
other presentation than the cephalic occiput anterior position
a performed vaginal extraction
an associated vaginal rupture
an injury of the anal sphincter
paravaginal haematoma immediately after birth and before inclusion in the study
multiple sclerosis
serious neurological disorders
connective tissue diseases
chronic inflammatory bowel diseases
congenital developmental disorders of the external genitalia

Where it is running

University Hospital — Brno, Czechia (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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