Can E-stim trigger pn?

[Dusty_in_Hope]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and to pn.

Does anyone think like me that their pn was possibly triggered by e-stim, i.e. the use of an electro pulse kegel machine, such as this Kegel8 machine http://www.kegel8.co.uk/kegel8-ultra.html for weak pelvic floor muscles? I had been using the Kegel8 with a particular sort of probe without a problem (http://www.kegel8.co.uk/periform-probe.html) for my stress and urge urinary incontinence, but then changed it for one that was supposed to help with a rectocele too (http://www.kegel8.co.uk/beacmed-perisph ... 10090.html). After I did that, coincidence or not, my rectocele seems to have got bigger/worse and the pn suddenly started. (I am post-menopausal and at the time had also just managed to lose about 42lb in weight, which I think could also have had some bearing on the sudden arrival of my pn.)

I would be interested to hear if you've had any similar experiences.

Dusty

[Violet M]

Kegals can definitely trigger pelvic floor pain and are typically contraindicated in people with pudendal neuralgia who have a tight, tense pelvic floor. Whether your new machine was the only cause it's hard to say for sure because often PN is the result of a combination of factors. Have you been evaluated by a good pelvic floor PT who is familiar with pudendal neuralgia? You can have a weak pelvic floor that is tense and overly contracted. (speaking from experience.) A tight pelvic floor can irritate the pudendal nerve and cause the pain of PN.

Violet

[Dusty_in_Hope]

Hi Violet

Thanks for your response.

I haven't been to a PT for evaluation, I'm afraid. I'm frightened of them making things worse as (even though I know I could go to one who has expertise in treating pn and I have managed to find a couple of PTs, recommended on this forum and from elsewhere on the Internet, who treat pn in England where I live) I have found that PTs often don't know anything much about fibromyalgia syndrome. In the past PTs who claimed that they understood fibromyalgia made my fibro pain much worse, albeit temporarily ('temporary' though being many months, rather than just few days or weeks). However, I realise that I might need to take the plunge as my pn is already driving me to despair and I've only had it about a month...

What worked for your weak yet overly contracted and tense pelvic floor PT-wise? Did you try Reverse Kegels and did doing those help at all?

I'm really grateful for your response and for this forum in general; I was feeling so isolated with this terrible condition.

Kind regards
Dusty

[Violet M]

Dusty, I have tried reverse kegals and they do help some although there was a time when they didn't work at all. I had pudendal nerve entrapment and had pudendal nerve release surgery which helped the pelvic pain/tension significantly. But PNE surgery isn't for everyone and it's definitely a last resort because it can make you worse.

Fibro is a complicating factor when it comes to trying PT but maybe you can find a PT who is gentle and won't push you too hard. Any PT who recommends kegals or any type of strenuous exercise may not be very knowledgeable about pudendal neuralgia.

Violet

[Dusty_in_Hope]

Thanks for your reply Violet.

I wonder why the reverse kegels didn't work for you at one time, but at another time they did...Perhaps they worked after your pn release surgery and the surgery was the thing that allowed them to be efficacious(?) I am finding them difficult to do, but I will keep reading the instructions that I've found on to how to do them, hoping that I don't make things worse while I'm trying.

Good points you make that I will bear in mind when looking for a suitable PT - thank you. (I've found PTs in my past to be 'demons' for repetitive exercises - which may be suitable for many conditions, but usually not for fibromyalgia.) I shall have to do my research and try to find a PT who knows about pn/pne and will respect the nature of my fibro and that fact that I suffer with chronic fatigue too.

Dusty

[Violet M]

That's right, Dusty. The reverse kegals were somewhat helpful after surgery but did nothing for me before surgery. In fact it was sort of impossible to do them before surgery.

Violet

[Dusty_in_Hope]

I thought that might be the case, Violet. (With a trapped nerve causing a lot of pain and discomfort, if there had have been any improvement at all, I would imagine you wouldn't have been able to notice it anyway.) I'm still trying to do the reverse kegels - I think I'm getting there, and discovering that the key thing is to use the power of the imagination to picture what should be happening with the pelvic floor...but still though I find sometimes it does happen and sometimes it doesn't.

Dusty