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RecruitingNCT06710002Updated May 23, 2025

Effectiveness of a Telerehabilitation Program for Improving Sexual Function and Reducing Pain in Menopausal Women

An interventional study of Pelvify: Menopause and dyspareunia treatment and Face to Face Physical Therapy Protocol in Menopause, Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause and Dyspareunia, sponsored by Instituto Médico Tecnológico SL. Recruiting at 1 site in Spain. Open to female participants aged 45 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-05-23.

Sponsored by Instituto Médico Tecnológico SL · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by Mar 2026, 8 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Started May 2025; still recruiting 1 year 6 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
90
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
45 Years to 65 Years
Sex
Female
01

Study summary

The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of a telerehabilitation program with respect to a face-to-face physiotherapy protocol in relation to the improvement of sexual function, the reduction of pain and the improvement of the quality of life, in the treatment of menopausal women with dyspareunia.

Read the detailed description

Both therapies have been proven to be effective, but since now any randomized controlled trial has been conducted to compare the results regarding the improvement in the sexual function, the reduction of pain and the improvement of quality of life in this population. The investigators hypothesize that the implementation of an asynchronous online telerehabilitation program is not inferior to the effect of the treatment carried out with a face-to-face physiotherapy protocol, in relation to the main variables obtained with the instruments Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL). Secondary goals are: 1) to evaluate whether the incorporation of a telerehabilitation program to face-to-face treatment increases the effectiveness in relation to performing only the face-to-face physiotherapy protocol, 2) compare the size of the vaginal dilator inserted painlessly at the end of the treatment in all groups, 3) identify any adverse effects associated with the intervention during the study, 4) detail the degree of adherence to the treatment and 5) record satisfaction with the treatment using the Likert Scale.

02

Conditions studied

  • Menopause
  • Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause
  • Dyspareunia

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Keywords

  • Physiotherapy
  • Telerehabilitation
  • face to face treatment
  • female sexual function
  • vaginal dilators
  • manual therapy
  • capacitive resistive monopolar radiofrequency
03

In context

Dyspareunia

158 studies on the registry are indexed under Dyspareunia; 40 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 90 is above the median of 63 across 126 interventional studies indexed under Dyspareunia.

Browse Dyspareunia studies →

Lead sponsor

Instituto Médico Tecnológico SL is the lead sponsor of 2 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
45 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Female
  • Age from 45 to 65 years.
  • Menopausal
  • Suffer dyspareunia for 3 months of evolution.
  • Willing to complete study questionnaires and study.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pacemaker or other types of electronic implant.
  • Thrombophlebitis.
  • Skin or rejection of manual contact.
  • Active or previous treatment with chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the pelvic area.
  • Wounds or burns in the pelvic area.
  • Allergy to nickel and chromium.
  • Other pelvic floor physiotherapy treatments during the study intervention.
  • Other medical and surgical treatments in the pelvic region, such as muscle infiltrations or nerve blocks during the study intervention.
  • Surgical intervention in the pelvic area in the last 3 months.
  • Fibromyalgia.
  • Oncological processes that affect the sacrum.
  • Systemic diseases (infectious, vascular, endocrine, metabolic or neoplastic conditions).
  • Neuromuscular diseases (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis or spinal muscular atrophy).
  • Myelopathy and Osteomyelitis.
  • Diseases that cause alterations of the central nervous system (traumatic or vascular spinal cord injury).
  • Neurological or metabolic conditions that affect the ability to respond (Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, senile dementia, etc).
  • Serious mental disorder.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
90 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Asynchronous Online Telerehabilitation Program

    For this study, a five weeks course called "Pelvify: Menopause and dyspareunia treatment" will be created. This will be based on a set of explanatory and demonstrative videos focused on self-treatment of pain during sexual intercourse. Each patient will have an individual access (own user). All groups in the sixth week will have a face-to-face visit to assess their progress. A telephone follow-up will be carried out at six months and twelve months after the end of the treatment.

    Behavioral: Pelvify: Menopause and dyspareunia treatment

  • Active comparator
    Face to Face Physical Therapy Protocol

    This consists of carrying out 5 individual sessions of 45 minutes, 1 day a week at the physiotherapy clinic RAPbarcelona S.L. Patients will be placed comfortably supine with a pillow under their head, with their legs flexed on two leg warmers, in the lithotomy position, without underwear and covered with a drape. In each of the treatment sessions, the same structure will always be applied and the established protocol will be followed. All groups in the sixth week will have a face-to-face visit to assess their progress. A telephone follow-up will be carried out at six months and twelve months after the end of the treatment.

    Other: Face to Face Physical Therapy Protocol

  • Active comparator
    Face to Face Protocol Combined With an Asynchronous Telerehabilitation Program

    This group will carry out the same 5 individual sessions of 45 minutes, 1 day a week at the RAPbarcelona S.L physiotherapy clinic following the protocol described for the "Face to Face Physical Therapy Protocol" group and in addition to the first visit they will be given access and instructions to follow in parallel the asynchronous online telerehabilitation program "Pelvify: Menopause and dyspareunia treatment". All groups in the sixth week will have a face-to-face visit to assess their progress. A telephone follow-up will be carried out at six months and twelve months after the end of the treatment.

    Other: Face to Face Protocol Combined With an Asynchronous Telerehabilitation Program

Interventions

  • BehavioralPelvify: Menopause and dyspareunia treatment

    Topics addressed in the Asynchronous Online Telerehabilitation Program would be: 1. What it is and why it hurts during sex. What is dyspareunia? 2. How to recover vaginal elasticity. 3. Massage 4. Self-palpation. 5. Stretching of the pelvic floor muscles. 6. Use of vaginal dilators. 7. Moisturizers and lubricants. 8. Sexual pleasure. 9. Communication with the partner.

  • OtherFace to Face Physical Therapy Protocol

    Physical Therapy Protocol will be based on: 1. Health education: 2. CMRF: INDIBA® ACTIV CT8 will be used to apply the radiofrequency 3. Manual therapy: it will be based on performing the Thiele's massage. 4. Vaginal dilators: FEMINAFORM® vaginal dilators will be used.

  • OtherFace to Face Protocol Combined With an Asynchronous Telerehabilitation Program

    Both, the face to face protocol and the Asynchronous Telerehabilitation Program will be carried on on this group.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Improved Female Sexual Function via Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)

    FSFI it is a self-administered instrument made up of 19 questions grouped into 6 domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction and pain. Response is measured on a scale from 0 (no sexual activity) to 5 (almost always). The FSFI total score range is 2 to 36; a score of less than or equal to 26.55 points, or when the score of any domain is less than 3.6 points, is considered a risk criterion for sexual dysfunction.

    Time frame: From registration to the end of treatment at 5 weeks, one week after the end of treatment, and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment

  2. Reduction in the Intensity of Dyspareunia Pain via Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    This scale (VAS) adequately captures the intensity of pain perceived by the patient represented by a horizontal line of 10 cm, where the left end (0 cm) is the absence of pain and the right end (10 cm) is pain of maximum intensity possible. The patient is asked to mark on the line the point indicating the intensity of their pain and it is measured with a millimeter ruler. The intensity is expressed in centimeters. It is considered mild up to 4 cm, moderate from 5 to 7 cm and if it is greater than 7 cm.

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 5 weeks, one week after treatment, and at six months and twelve months post treatment

  3. Improved Quality of Life via Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL)

    MENQOL it is a questionnaire designed to assess the quality of life of women who are going through menopause. It consists of 29 questions grouped into 4 domains: vasomotor area, psychosocial area, physical area and sexual area. Each question has two answer options No/Yes, if yes, it is assigned a score ranging from 0 (not annoying) to 6 (very annoying). The total score is from 29 to 232 points. A higher score indicates more intense symptomatology.

    Time frame: From registration to the end of treatment at 5 weeks, one week after the end of treatment, and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from the size of the Vaginal Dilator inserted without pain

    It will be measured with FEMINAFORM® vaginal dilators. The set consists of 4 dilators of different diameters and lengths, and a clamping device: Size 1: 22mmx85mm (diameter/length), Size 2: 27x105mm (diameter/length), Size 3: 32x135mm (diameter/length) and Size 4 : 37x160mm (diameter/length). The largest vaginal dilator size that has a score (VAS) of 0 cm will be recorded. It will be specified whether the absence of pain is by inserting the entire dilator or only a part.

    Time frame: From enrollment to one week after treatment

Other outcomes

  1. Number of complaints or adverse effects registered during treatments

    Any type of discomfort or alteration of normality during the application or after the end of the treatment, will be recorded

    Time frame: During the five weeks of treatment and one week after finishing it.

  2. Degree of Satisfaction Score on the treatment using the Likert Scale.

    The six-point Likert Scale is a psychometric measurement tool that assesses subjective attitudes and opinions. Each level of the scale is given a numerical value. It will be expressed as: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Slightly Disagree, 4 = Slightly Agree, 5 = Agree and 6 = Strongly Agree.

    Time frame: One week after the end of treatment, and 6 months and 12 months after treatment

  3. Degree of Adherence to the treatments

    Monitored by tracking attendance at treatment sessions according to the following scale: 1 = No adherence (less than 20%), 2 = Minimal adherence (20% - 39%), 3 = Low adherence (40% - 59%), 4 = Moderate adherence (60% - 79%), 5 = High adherence (80% - 99%), and 6 = Complete adherence (100%).

    Time frame: During the five weeks of treatment, 1 week after treatment, and at 6 months and 12 months after treatment

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • RAPbarcelona
    Barcelona, 08037, Spain
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Marino JM. Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2021 Nov;66(6):729-739. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13277. Epub 2021 Aug 31. PubMed 34464022 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started May 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2026, 10 months after the start.

Of 51 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Dyspareunia, half reached primary completion within 33 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 14 and three quarters within 48. This study's planned 10 months is below that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 59 studies reached it within 33 months; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 38.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Nov 18, 2024
First posted
Nov 29, 2024
StartActual
May 5, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Mar 2026
CompletionEst.
Mar 2026
Last update
May 23, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 23, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06710002
Lead sponsor
Instituto Médico Tecnológico SL
Collaborators
RAPbarcelona
Responsible party
Inés Ramírez García (Principal Investigator. Professor. Physiotherapist PhD, University Ramon Llull) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 29, 2024
Start date
May 5, 2025
Primary completion
Mar 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Mar 2026 (estimated)
Last update
May 23, 2025

Study contacts

Paula Sanfeliu Rosell, MSc
Contact
fisiopaulasanfeliu@gmail.com
+34 648222751
Inés Ramírez García, PhD
Contact
iraga73@gmail.com
+34 677745765

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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