The influence of pain presence on pelvic floor and sexual dysfunctions, and pain intensity-related variables in women using the menstrual cup: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to assess the influence of pain during menstrual cup use on pelvic floor and sexual dysfunctions. In addition, we wanted to assess its impact on variables related to pain intensity during menstrual cup use such as insertion, removal, during menstruation, during sexual intercourse or the presence of pelvic pain. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey. The study included 566 women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Women were categorised into two primary groups: women with no pain and women with pain. Results: Regarding pelvic floor dysfunction, the independent samples t-test showed significant between-group differences ( t(564) = −3.50, mean differences (MD) = −8.86 (−13.8 to −3.89), p < 0.001). With respect to sexual dysfunction, no significant between-group differences were found with the exception of the pain subscale ( t(564) = 2.59, MD = 0.27 (0.48–0.06), p = 0.01. Regarding pain-related variables, we found statistically significant between-groups differences on all analysed variables. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results showed that women who use the menstrual cup and have pain showed worse scores on the pelvic floor dysfunction questionnaire, where it also seems that greater pain intensity was associated with worse questionnaire scores. However, we found no significant differences in sexual dysfunction except for the pain subscale between women who did and did not report pain in menstrual cup use. Finally, women who reported pain from menstrual cup use showed significantly greater pain intensity when inserting and removing the menstrual cup, during menstruation, during sexual intercourse and showed higher levels of pelvic pain although these differences are clinically slight.