School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Physiotherapy Department, Central Coast Local Health District, Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia.
Phys Ther. 2024 Aug 2;104(8). doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzae083.
People living with chronic primary or secondary musculoskeletal pain conditions such as low back pain, fibromyalgia, and inflammatory arthritis typically experience wide-ranging impacts on their physical function, activity participation, and psychosocial wellbeing. These can extend to negative impacts on a person's sexual function and their intimate relationships. While sexual function is an important component of wellbeing, it is often not considered within musculoskeletal pain care. Without awareness or targeted training, physical therapists may lack the confidence and skills to screen, assess, and manage the impacts that pain may be having on a person's sexual function and can miss the opportunity to tailor their care and optimize wellbeing. This article seeks to raise awareness among physical therapists of how living with chronic musculoskeletal pain can impact a person's sexual function and intimate relationships, and provide guidance on how to consider these issues within a person-centered approach to care. It describes why considering sexual function and intimate relationship issues as part of a person's lived musculoskeletal pain experience may be relevant, outlines the use of validated patient-reported outcome measures to assess sexual dysfunction, and suggests practical strategies for sensitively raising sexual function in consultations. Management approaches and possible referral pathways are also presented, to assist physical therapists in understanding available care options. This article seeks to support holistic care by improving physical therapists' knowledge and understanding of sexual dysfunction and its management in people living with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Considering sexual function as a valued functional activity, together with other activities of daily living, will assist physical therapists to provide more holistic and person-centered care. This article covers the main considerations for raising sexual function and intimate relationship issues with people living with chronic musculoskeletal pain, as well as management options and potential referral pathways. Physical therapists are encouraged to seek targeted training to improve their confidence and skills in this area, and to use inclusive, respectful language for discussions around sexual function and intimate relationships.
患有慢性原发性或继发性肌肉骨骼疼痛疾病（如腰痛、纤维肌痛和炎症性关节炎）的人通常会经历身体功能、活动参与和心理社会健康方面的广泛影响。这些可能会对一个人的性功能和亲密关系产生负面影响。虽然性功能是幸福感的一个重要组成部分，但它在肌肉骨骼疼痛护理中通常不被考虑。如果没有意识或针对性的培训，物理治疗师可能缺乏筛查、评估和管理疼痛可能对一个人性功能产生的影响的信心和技能，并且可能会错过有针对性地提供护理和优化幸福感的机会。本文旨在提高物理治疗师对慢性肌肉骨骼疼痛如何影响一个人性功能和亲密关系的认识，并提供有关如何在以人为本的护理方法中考虑这些问题的指导。它描述了为什么将性功能和亲密关系问题作为一个人肌肉骨骼疼痛体验的一部分来考虑可能是相关的，概述了使用经过验证的患者报告结局测量来评估性功能障碍，并提出了在咨询中敏感地提出性功能问题的实用策略。还介绍了管理方法和可能的转介途径，以帮助物理治疗师了解可用的护理选择。本文旨在通过提高物理治疗师对慢性肌肉骨骼疼痛患者性功能障碍及其管理的知识和理解来支持整体护理。
