Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Please address correspondence to: Daniel A. Shoskes, M. We wished to document tenderness on physical exam in a large multicenter cohort of CPPS patients, and compare to controls.
Tenderness in 11 sites including prostate, genitals, abdomen and pelvic floor together with prostate size and consistency was evaluated. Data was correlated with cultures and symptoms. Tenderness did not correlate with inflammation or infection in the prostate fluid.
Extraprostatic tenderness may identify a cohort of patients with a neuromuscular source of pain. Several groups have suggested that a myofascial pain syndrome with abnormal pelvic muscle spasm is the primary source of the symptoms of CPPS, although such spasm could be secondary to local infection or inflammation 2. As part of the initial evaluation, the physical exam included assessment of muscle tenderness in the abdomen, genitals, and pelvis, including the prostate. Tenderness was elicited by the physician performing the physical examination during palpation.
This database represents a unique opportunity to study muscular pain and tenderness in men with CPPS that have been fully evaluated for symptoms, cultures, and microscopy, as well as comparing these findings to asymptomatic controls.
Data for the CPPS participants were obtained from the CPC study, based on a prospective, longitudinal cohort design, that recruited eligible, consenting participants at 7 clinical centers, described further in Schaeffer et al 3.
