Manhattan Pain Medicine developed and validated the Pelvic Dystonia Severity Scale, a condition-specific scoring tool designed to help clinicians evaluate pelvic dystonia and track how patients respond to treatment.
Pelvic dystonia can be difficult to identify because it is often mistaken for pelvic pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, vaginismus, or other pelvic conditions. The condition involves involuntary pelvic muscle contraction, which can contribute to chronic pain, tightness, and difficulty with daily activities such as walking, sitting, bowel function, bladder function, and sexual function.
This study evaluated a 10-question scoring tool, known as the PDSS, in 102 participants. The scale demonstrated strong completion rates, excellent internal consistency, reliability across pain, muscle tone, and functional impairment domains, and stable results when patients were re-tested. The findings support the PDSS as a validated tool to help measure pelvic dystonia severity and track response to treatments such as botulinum toxin injections.
Key Research Details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jason W. Siefferman, MD · Mariia Safroshkina, MD · Iuliia Nazarova, MD · Andrey Zaznaev, MA · Sameeha Hasan |
| Institution | Manhattan Pain Medicine, PLLC, New York, NY |
| Ethics Approval | BRANY, Biomedical Research Alliance of New York |
| Study Size | 102 participants |
| Publication | Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation |
| Research Type | Published validation study |
| Clinical Tool Studied | Pelvic Dystonia Severity Scale |
| Condition Studied | Pelvic dystonia |
What the PDSS Measures
The Pelvic Dystonia Severity Scale was developed to measure the severity of pelvic dystonia in a structured and clinically meaningful way. Pelvic dystonia involves involuntary contraction, tightness, or spasm of the pelvic muscles, which can cause pain and interfere with daily function.
The PDSS measures four key areas:
- Pain severity
How much pain the patient experiences in the pelvic region. - Muscle tone
The degree of involuntary tightness, spasm, or abnormal pelvic muscle contraction. - Functional impairment
How symptoms affect daily activities, bowel function, bladder function, and sexual function. - Treatment response
How symptoms change over time, especially after treatments such as botulinum toxin injections.
Why This Research Matters
Pelvic dystonia is frequently misdiagnosed as pelvic pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, vaginismus, levator ani syndrome, or other pelvic conditions. When the diagnosis is missed, patients may spend years trying treatments that do not address the underlying problem.
The PDSS gives clinicians a validated tool to evaluate pelvic dystonia more consistently and measure whether treatment is helping. This can support earlier recognition, better tracking, and more objective care for patients with chronic pelvic symptoms.
Study Findings
The study enrolled 102 participants and found that nearly all participants completed the questionnaire in full. The PDSS showed excellent internal consistency and reliability across its three core domains: pain, muscle tone, and functional impairment.
Scores also remained stable when patients were re-tested one week later, supporting the reliability of the scale. The PDSS correlated meaningfully with established clinical measures, further supporting its ability to capture the symptoms it was designed to measure.