Physiotherapy based on energy as a valuable form of treatment for vulvar lichen sclerosus: a review of the literature

Abstract

Vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS) is an inflammatory, nonneoplastic dermatosis affecting individuals of all ages, with symptomatic peaks often observed during puberty and menopause. The primary symptoms of VLS include progressive vulvar itching and pain, which can lead to vulvar scarring and sexual dysfunction in later stages, significantly affecting the quality of life for patients. Currently, despite the availability of numerous therapeutic options, treatment outcomes remain less than satisfactory. Energy-based physical therapies, such as photodynamic therapy, laser therapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound, have demonstrated positive therapeutic effects on VLS in various pioneering studies. This review aims to provide an overview of the research progress and potential mechanisms of these physical therapies in the context of VLS while also comparing related treatment methods to emphasise the advantages of energy-based physical therapy for this condition.

Contributors YZ was actively involved in the conceptualisation, investigation and writing of the original draft. YL, as the corresponding author, contributed substantially to the critical revision of the manuscript, provided academic supervision throughout the research process and assumed responsibility for all communication aspects. Both authors reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version for submission.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Patient and public involvement Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, or conduct, or reporting or dissemination plans of this research.

Patient consent for publication Not applicable.

Ethics approval Not applicable.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Open access This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

ORCID iD

Yuanling Zhang https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9881-6504

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