Issn Print: 1556-6803

Publication Date: 2007/12/01


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Guest Editorial

Jane Frahm

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Excerpt

This issue of the Journal represents the implementation of the Vulvar Vestibulitis task force's 2-year strategic plan. It is a tangible outcome of what can be achieved by a determined group of professionals communicating in meetings, and by conference calls and multiple e-mails. I am honored and feel proud to have been a member of this task force. You, the Section members, are fortunate to be the recipients of this current body of knowledge on Vulvar Pain.
What a distance the SOWH has covered from the time when these problems were unspeakable until today. Consider that prior to 30 years ago (a lifetime, for some of you) we may not have been able to put some of this in print. Lest you take the work presented here for granted, consider this. I remember when the Section was about 5 years old, being given a special audience to appear before the APTA Board of Directors to state the case for internal manual muscle examinations of the pelvic floor musculature! I believe that the compromise at that time was that the SOWH was allowed to come up with a statement that included “internal” manual muscle examinations in an evaluation procedure.
2007 marks the 30th year of existence for SOWH. As a charter member of the Section and volunteer in multiple capacities, I personally have witnessed constant change in support of our mission. The Section has not stood still, its growth paralleling the stages of human development—Infancy, Childhood, Pre-Teen, Rocky Teen, Young Adult, and now 30-something. Isn't this the age where we humans begin to know ourselves? This maturation is evident in the Section's recruitment and retention of members from clinical, academic, and research backgrounds. CAPP is underway and at this time a cadre of exam writers is working on questions for the first Specialty in Women's Health exam.
I believe that in this decade, the Section will continue to see its body of knowledge continue to grow. Bridges that have been forged between ourselves and other health care professionals will strengthen as we communicate and collaborate more to develop and validate evidence-based evaluation and treatment protocols.
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