Lifestyle and Selected Issues Related to Sexual Health: The Importance of Specialist Care in Balneology, Dietetics, and Physiotherapy
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Sexual health is shaped by lifestyle factors alongside biomedical determinants. This review synthesises evidence on physiotherapy, balneology/peloidotherapy, and diet therapy as preventive and therapeutic adjuncts for female sexual dysfunctions and related gynaecological conditions. Methods: A structured narrative review of PubMed and Google Scholar (June-July 2025) was conducted by three independent reviewers using predefined keywords in English and Polish. Case reports, preprints, and studies before 2015 were excluded. From 7322 records, 47 studies met the inclusion criteria for qualitative synthesis. Results: Physiotherapy-particularly pelvic floor muscle training, multimodal manual therapy, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (including PTNS), magnetostimulation, short-wave diathermy, and capacitive-resistive monopolar radiofrequency-was consistently associated with reductions in dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, and urinary symptoms, with parallel improvements in sexual function and quality of life. Balneological procedures (brine baths/irrigations, crenotherapy, selected radon/sulphide/iodine-bromine applications) and peloidotherapy demonstrated analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and perfusion-enhancing effects, with signals of benefit in vulvodynia, endometriosis, and infertility support. Dietary measures-higher fruit intake (notably citrus), adequate vitamin D, targeted omega-3 use in PCOS, a Mediterranean dietary pattern, and prudent red-meat…
Read the paper
Related studies
- Increased expression of circulating miRNA-93 in women with polycystic ovary syndrome may represent a novel, non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis
- Identification of key genes associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and ovarian cancer using an integrated bioinformatics analysis
- Identification of key pathways and genes in polycystic ovary syndrome via integrated bioinformatics analysis and prediction of small therapeutic molecules
- Regulation of Androgen Receptor Expression Alters AMPK Phosphorylation in the Endometrium: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
- Effect of oral administration of low-dose follicle stimulating hormone on hyperandrogenized mice as a model of polycystic ovary syndrome
- Systems pharmacology to investigate the interaction of berberine and other drugs in treating polycystic ovary syndrome
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.