Pelvic pain

• Article
• 2021-03-02

"Pelvic pain" is a general term used to describe pain that usually or only occurs in the area below a woman's navel. This type of pain is a common reason why women seek medical care. The pain can persist, or it can come and go. Severe pain can disrupt everyday life and quality of life.

Symptoms

While pain is the core symptom of pelvic pain, the specifics of that pain and other symptoms vary from woman to woman. Pelvic pain can be so severe that it interferes with normal activities, such as going to work, exercising, or having sex.

Women describe pelvic pain in many ways. Pelvic pain can be stable, or it can come and go. It can be a sharp and stabbing pain felt in a specific area, or a dull pain that has spread. Some women have pain that only occurs during their period. Some women feel pain when they go to the bathroom and some feel pain when they lift something heavy. Some women have pain in the vulva (the external genitals), called vulvodynia (pronounced vuhl-voe-DIN-ee-yuh ), during sex or when inserting a tampon.

Therapy

Treatment depends on the cause of pelvic pain, how intense the pain is, and how often the pain occurs. No single treatment has proven better than another in all cases. ¹

Some treatment options include:

• Medicines. Many types of medications are used to treat pelvic pain. These include painkillers that are swallowed or injected, muscle relaxants and antidepressants. ^{1, 2, 3}
• Hormonal treatment. Hormones can help with pain related to endometriosis
  and menstruation. ⁴ These include hormones that are swallowed, injected, or placed in the uterus, such as birth control pills, gonadotropin releasing hormone injections, or progestin releasing IUDs. Hormonal treatment for pelvic pain is not the same as hormone therapy that is sometimes used to treat the symptoms of menopause.
• Lifestyle changes. Some women's pain is managed with diet changes, improved posture, and regular exercise. ¹
• Physiotherapy. Some types of pain, such as muscle and connective tissue pain, respond well to physical therapy. This type of therapy can involve massage, stretching, strengthening or learning to relax or control the pelvic floor muscles. ⁵
• Surgery. Some women may have a surgery to remove adhesions, ^six have fibroids and / or endometriosis. In some cases, the surgery can also reduce or relieve pelvic pain. Some women may undergo surgery to cut or destroy nerves to interrupt pain signals, ¹ but such pain surgeries are often unsuccessful. Depending on the cause of the pain, a woman's healthcare provider may recommend a hysterectomy (pronounced hiss-tur-EK-toh-mee ), which is surgery to remove a woman's uterus to relieve or reduce pelvic pain.
• Counseling . Counseling or "talk therapy" can help treat pain. In fact, talk therapy, when combined with medical treatment, seems to work better for improving some symptoms than medical treatment alone. ¹

Finding a treatment that works can take a while. Some women want to try alternative therapies to relieve their pain. Learning healthy ways to manage pain is an important aspect of any treatment approach.

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