TOPLINE: 

Nonablative capacitive-resistive monopolar radiofrequency (CRMRF) therapy significantly enhanced sexual function and vaginal health in postmenopausal women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), with Female Sexual Function Index improvements of 5.86 points posttreatment and 4.41 points at 12-week follow-up.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a single-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial with 62 postmenopausal women (aged 40-65 years; mean age, 55) who were randomly assigned to receive six weekly sessions of CRMRF (n = 32) or sham treatment (n = 30).
• Participants underwent assessment using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) and Vaginal Health Index (VHI) at baseline, posttreatment (7 weeks after first session), and at 12-week follow-up.
• The treatment protocol involved progressive heating with a capacitive electrode maintaining 41°-43°C (106°-109.5°F) for 10 minutes, while the control group received the same protocol without active radiofrequency emission.

TAKEAWAY:

• The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in FSFI scores compared to controls, with mean changes of 5.86 vs 1.33 at posttreatment (P < .001) and 4.41 vs -0.41 at 12-week follow-up (P = .011).
• Vaginal Health Index scores showed marked improvement in the treatment group, with mean changes of 4.75 vs -0.03 at post-treatment (P < .001) and 6.90 vs -0.66 at 12-week follow-up (P < .001).
• Effect sizes were moderate to large for FSFI (Cohen’s d, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.25-1.29) and large for VHI (Cohen’s d, 3.49; 95% CI, 2.68-4.28).
• The proportion of women with sexual dysfunction (FSFI ≤ 26.55) in the intervention group decreased from 75% at baseline to 53.1% at both posttreatment and 12-week follow-up (P = .039).

IN PRACTICE:

“Capacitive-resistive monopolar radiofrequency significantly improved sexual function and vaginal health in women with genitourinary syndrome of menopause, thereby supporting its use as a safe, nonhormone treatment option," wrote the authors of the study.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Claudia Quezada-Bascuñán, MSc, PT, Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha in Toledo, Spain. It was published online in Menopause.

LIMITATIONS: 

According to the authors, participants were not considered fully blinded to treatment allocation as thermal perception could not be effectively masked due to the nature of the intervention. The study was conducted at a single center with patients in a relatively young age range, with recruitment carried out through flyers and social media; this may limit the generalizability of the findings to older women, those with surgical menopause, or those with different sociodemographic profiles. The absence of psychosocial or relational assessments also restricted the interpretation of the decline in sexual satisfaction despite physiologic improvements.

DISCLOSURES:

No funding was reported for this study. The authors reported no relevant financial relationships.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.