A Milestone Worth Marking: Celebrating 50 Years of JWPHPT

We are celebrating a milestone – 50 volumes, 50 years of the Journal of Women’s today, I appreciate just as much the convenience and accessibility of the e-journal. Like many of you, I have relied on the journal as a source of valuable information. As a teacher, I used JWPHPT articles to provide students with insight into women’s and pelvic health physical therapy practice. The journal offered research that served as a foundation for classroom discussions, fostering a deeper understanding of both the research process in general and the nuances of conducting clinical research. As a researcher, I often turned to the journal for information unavailable elsewhere. JWPHPT helped identify gaps in the evidence, supported the relevance of my work, and provided an effective home for publishing findings that would reach an engaged and interested audience. Reviewing for JWPHPT contributed to my professional development in unexpected ways. I believe peer review benefits the reviewer as much as the researcher. Framing constructive feedback to strengthen someone else’s work kept me current with emerging research and sharpened both my analytical and communication skills. Becoming an editor was not a career path I would have predicted. Yet it has been the culmination of all I have learned as a clinician, academician, and researcher. Peeking behind the publication curtain to see how it all comes together has been fascinating. Working closely with our publisher and production team has given me a new appreciation for the complexity of medical publishing. Maintaining journal quality requires that JWPHPT remain current – with regular updates to editorial policies, adherence to evolving ethical standards, and alignment with reporting guidelines. Further developing our peer-review processes and journal infrastructure has been both challenging and deeply rewarding. Through the daily work of responding to authors’ questions, assisting reviewers, and addressing the myriad issues that inevitably arise, I have come to value a unique form of mentorship – helping colleagues navigate the sometimes unfamiliar terrain of peer review and publication. Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of serving as editor is collaborating with our remarkable team of associate editors. Together, we produce the journal with a shared commitment to helping authors clarify their research and making the best available evidence accessible to you. I am continually impressed by the dedication of our associate editors, who serve in a volunteer capacity. Here are reflections from Associate Editors Trish Crane and Becca Reisch on what the journal has meant to them. The Journal of Women’s Instagram, @jwphptofficial; X (Twitter), @JWPHPTofficial; LinkedIn, jwhpt; YouTube, JWPHPTofficial). Please send your thoughts to email protected. Your contributions may be featured on our digital media platforms or in future editorials. Thank you for being part of the JWPHPT community. We appreciate your commitment and your continued support as we celebrate 50 years – and look ahead to the future. Highlights in This Issue: This issue contains articles on various aspects of pelvic health physical therapy for those with chronic pelvic pain, trauma-informed care, post-op telehealth physical, and genital lymphedema. Young and colleagues provide a systematic review examining the effectiveness of interdisciplinary programs in reducing pain and disability for individuals with chronic pelvic pain – an area where coordinated care is essential. Neville and associates contribute a retrospective cohort analysis of females with chronic pelvic pain and pelvic floor myofascial pain, identifying variability in clinical intervention pathways that may meaningfully influence outcomes. Modesto et al offer important qualitative insights into the experiences of women with a history of sexual trauma who sought pelvic floor physical therapy for sexual pain, highlighting the clinical and interpersonal dimensions of care. In a retrospective analysis, Melby and colleagues evaluated the impact of pelvic floor physical therapy dosage on urinary incontinence as measured by Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6) scores. Dvorsky and colleagues explore innovation in service delivery through a feasibility study of a telehealth pelvic health physical therapy visit conducted within three days of laparoscopic surgery for women with chronic pelvic pain. Finally, Studt and DiCecco present a thoughtful case report describing the management of genital lymphedema using off-the-shelf compression shorts, illustrating practical application to address a complex clinical condition. —Cynthia Chiarello, PT, PhDEditor-in Chief