%0 Journal Article %T Efficacy of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Nonrandomized Controlled Trial %A Dai Zhang %A Xiao-Tong Yu %A Yue-Wen Ma %A Zhao-Xuan Zhang %J American Journal of Men's Health %@ 1557-9891 %D 2019 %R 10.1177/1557988318814663 %X This study aims to determine the effect of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) versus drug when treating chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS; type III B chronic prostatitis). The study included 45 participants with CPPS, divided into two groups: Group I comprised 25 participants, who were treated with rESWT (3,000 pulses each; pressure: 1.8¨C2.0 bar; frequency: 10 Hz) once a week; Group II consisted of 20 participants who received a combination of an ¦Á-blocker and an anti-inflammatory agent. Participants were treated for 8 weeks. The assessments were done before treatment, after the fourth and eighth rESWT, and 3 months after the end of treatment by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, National Institutes of Health-developed Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL), and International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5). Both groups of participants showed statistically significant improvement in all the assessments (p < .001) after the treatment, with significantly better results in Group I in NIH-CPSI (p < .001). The recurrence rate of symptoms in Group I at 3 months after end of treatment was much lower than that in Group II (4% vs. 50%, p < .001). This prospectively nonrandomized, control study revealed perineal rESWT as a new therapy option for CPPS with statistically significant effects in comparison to drugs at least for 3 months after cessation of treatment %K chronic pelvic pain syndrome %K radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy %K chronic prostatitis %U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1557988318814663