FIRST CHIROPRACTIC APPOINTMENT GREATLY HELPED PAIN

Hi!

I've had increasing vaginal burning/rawness for about a year and a half, and have been seen by a gyno, a GP, and a dermatologist, all to no luck. When I found you all by Googling, I assumed I'd found my issue.

I read your posts on chiropractors and yoga poses helping. I had low back pain problems starting around the same type as my vulvodynia problems (from doing a jump squat), so I called a chiropractor and started doing stretching exercises immediately.

The chiropractor was amazing (Dr. Matt Suntken at Quality of Life MN). He said he hadn't treated any patients with vulvodynia, but that he saw guys with painful testicles all the time and that at least in my case, it seemed like the same set of nerves. After the appointment, I was able to have penetrative sex for the first time in two months.

Other things I've done to help my low back this past week: slept on the floor. Stretching exercises including: the runner's stretch, that one where you lay down and hug your bent leg and bring it towards your chest, the one where you lay on the ground and raise your leg in a split as far as you can, the one where you twist your legs together while laying down and then move them to one side and then the other, touching my toes with straight legs, reaching opposite arm over towards opposite side and leaning, the stretch where you put one leg in front, bend the other horizontally, and lean forward. Given these pretty rough descriptions, I can go and find pictures online and link to them if anyone is curious about them.

A bunch of other information in case it's relevant to anyone else:
-My coccyx started hurting way before my lower back or vulvar region did and that might be in the same nerve path.
-My hips are uneven and that might be a contributor
-I tried steroid cream briefly as suggested by gynecologist; I switched to the SCD diet (which I love but didn't help); I took a ton of yeast infection medicine prescribed by my gynecologist and also stuff for BV which didn't help; I took probiotics recommended by my GP and that didn't help
-A analysis of a recent spine for my lower back pain xray said: Normal osseous mineralization. Mild thoracolumbar dextroscoliosis 
with apex at T12-L1. Vertebral body heights are preserved. No acute 
fracture identified. No significant listhesis. Mild disc space 
narrowing L5-S1 (ADDED NOTE: This comes up in one of the studies below as something leading to our type of pain). Posterior elements unremarkable. Trace lower lumbar 
facet arthropathy. Sacroiliac joints symmetric.

I'm going to post updates--not sure how much this will take my pain down from here, but I felt I owed it to you guys to post. You helped me so much!

Also, here's a link to a case study about a successful chiropractic intervention and about a different type of intervention (but that shows the issues are connected for at least some people):

[EDIT: I can't post links for seven days because I'm a new member, but if you google:


"Resolution of Vulvodynia Following Chiropractic Care Using Chiropractic Biophysics & Diversified Techniques: A Case Report" it's possible to find a PDF version of it without journal access.

and

If you google: "Pelvic Neuralgias by Neuro-Vascular Entrapment: Anatomical Findings in a Series of 97 Consecutive Patients Treated by Laparoscopic Nerve Decompression" you can find an abstract.

Thanks again everyone.

Very interested in your story keep us all posted. I have had some pain in my lower back recently due to gardening. Just getting over a flare up!

Hi fairlight10! Thanks for prompting an update--my back has continued to get better (through more chiropractor appointments, continued stretching, and continued sleeping on the floor) and my vulvodynia has continued to get much better too (I'm almost back to normal most days). Whenever my back hurts more (I lifted a few things I shouldn't have a couple days ago), the vulvodynia gets worse again--it has continued to be a very direct correlation. The chiropractor says he's going to teach me some "stabilizing back exercises" at our appointment this coming week.