Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction (PFMD) can cause pelvic pain, but its associations with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and POP treatment outcomes are poorly understood.

The objectives of this study were to determine (1) if pelvic pain is associated with PFMD in women seeking POP treatment and (2) if baseline PFMD in women seeking management of POP is associated with improvement in pelvic pain at 12 months.

This was an ambispective cohort study of women enrolled at one site of the Pelvic Floor Disorders Registry. Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction was identified if tenderness was reported on a standardized pelvic floor muscle examination at baseline. Outcomes included a pelvic pain questionnaire (score 0–70, assessed pain in the past 24 hours in 7 pelvic locations) and the Global Health-10 overall average pain rating (0–10).

One hundred forty-four women planning surgery (118) or pessary (26) were included. Twenty (13.9%) had baseline PFMD. Women with PFMD versus no PFMD had greater baseline Pelvic Pain scores (median [IQR], 9.7 [4–23] vs 2.5 [0–7], P < 0.001) and overall average pain (4 [3–6] vs 1 [0–3], P < 0.001). In 107 women with 12-month treatment outcomes, those with PFMD at baseline had greater improvement in pelvic pain compared with those without PFMD (change score −6.5 [−15.2 to 0] vs 0 [−3 to 0] respectively, P = 0.03). Overall pain improved after treatment in the no PFMD group but not in the PFMD group.

Patients with baseline PFMD vs none undergoing treatment for prolapse had higher baseline pelvic pain and greater improvement in pelvic pain at 12 months.