Pelvic pain

Pelvic Pain

Pelvic pain is one of the commonest reasons for women to be referred to a gynaecologist. Such pain may be acute or chronic. Acute pelvic pain comes on suddenly and can be quite severe, whereas chronic pelvic pain is defined as pain that has been present for three or more menstrual cycles. Chronic pelvic pain may be less severe in intensity, but nonetheless is very debilitating and draining.

Most women experience pelvic pain at some point in their lives, be it due to periods, ovulation, pelvic inflammatory disease or even a water (urinary tract) infection.

Causes of pelvic pain

Diagnosing the disorder that's causing the pelvic pain can be very difficult, because so many diseases need to be eliminated. For example, the common causes of chronic pelvic pain in women are endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, pelvic congestion, irritable bowel syndrome and physiological reasons such as dysmenorrhoea (painful periods) and mittelschmerz (ovulation pain). Several of these conditions can be made worse by stress and tension, but care must be taken not to label stress only, as the cause.

Less common causes include urinary tract infections, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, pelvic abscesses, prolapse, diverticulitis, ovarian, cervical and bowel cancers and inflammatory conditions of the bowel such as colitis and Crohn's disease.

Diagnosis

Many investigations may have to be performed to clinch the diagnosis, including several blood tests, urine culture, vaginal urethral and rectal swabs, X rays, ultrasound scans and laporoscopy (looking into the pelvic cavity with a narrow telescope.

Treatment

Treatment will depend upon the exact diagnosis. It may take either antibiotics, antispasmodics, hormones, painkillers, and surgical interventions. For some, even simple relaxation techniques may ease the pain, especially from irritable bowel syndrome and dysmenorrhoea. Any women over 35 years of age with pelvic pain of more than three months duration should be referred to hospital for a gynaecological opinion.
IMPORTANT NOTICE : This content is from the Dr Chris Steele personal archive and is provided for convenience only. Information contained here may no longer agree with the most up to date medical advice. Please check with a medical professional before taking any action.

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