Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35147761›Full record

ReviewArchives of gynecology and obstetrics2022

Vulvodynia: a neuroinflammatory pain syndrome originating in pelvic visceral nerve plexuses due to mechanical factors.

Jacob Bornstein, Eilam Palzur, Michael Swash, Peter Petros

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Archives of gynecology and obstetrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Comorbid Conditions of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes and Vulvodynia: A Latent Class Analysis.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.

Jacob BornsteinPain Research Laboratory, Research institute, Galilee Medical Center and Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, 89 Road, 22100, Nahariya, Israel.
Eilam PalzurPain Research Laboratory, Research institute, Galilee Medical Center and Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, 89 Road, 22100, Nahariya, Israel.
Michael SwashBarts and the London School of Medicine, QMUL, London, E1 2AD, UK.
Peter PetrosSchool of Mechanical and Mathematical Engineering, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia. pp@kvinno.com.ORCID 0000-0002-9611-3258
Bar-Ilan University · ILThe University of Western Australia · AUUniversity of Lisbon · PT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This short opinion aimed to present the evidence to support our hypothesis that vulvodynia is a neuroinflammatory pain syndrome originating in the pelvic visceral nerve plexuses caused by the failure of weakened uterosacral ligaments (USLs) to support the pelvic visceral nerve plexuses, i.e., T11-L2 sympathetic and S2-4 parasympathetic plexuses. These are supported by the USLs, 2 cm from their insertion to the cervix. They innervate the pelvic organs, glands, and muscles. If the USLs are weak or lax, gravitational force or even the muscles may distort and stimulate the unsupported plexuses. Inappropriate afferent signals could then be interpreted as originating from an end-organ site. Activation of sensory visceral nerves causes a neuro-inflammatory response in the affected tissues, leading to neuroproliferation of small peripheral sensory nerve fibers, which may cause hyperalgesia and allodynia in the territory of the damaged innervation. Repair of the primary abnormality of USL laxity, responsible for mechanical stimulation of the pelvic sensory plexus, may lead to resolution of the pain syndrome.

Indexed as

VulvodyniaFemaleHumansHypogastric PlexusLigamentsPainPelvisUterusNeuroproliferationProvoked vulvodyniaUterosacral ligaments

Identifiers

PMID35147761
PMCPMC9519726
OpenAlexW4211190700

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.