Pelvic pain
Are you experiencing sudden and severe pelvic pain? If so, you may be experiencing a condition known as Pelvic PAIN. Pelvic PAIN is a condition in which there is severe pain in the low back, pelvis, and sometimes even the legs. Fortunately, Pelvic PAIN can be relinquished with Kegel exercises. If you are experiencing Pelvic PAIN, you can try the following emergency Kegel technique. If you are unable to perform the exercise, you can try the following Kegel technique instead.
Symptoms of pelvic pain
Pelvic pain varies. It may affect a small area around your pelvis (your lower tummy) or the whole area.
Types of pelvic pain include:
· a sharp, stabbing or burning pain that happens suddenly
· a pain that comes on slowly but does not go away
· a dull or heavy ache, or feeling of pressure
· a cramping or throbbing pain, which may come and go
· pain only when you’re doing something, like exercising, having sex, or peeing
Common causes of pelvic pain
There are lots of causes of pelvic pain. It might be caused by an infection or a condition affecting one of the organs in the pelvic area, such as the bowel or bladder.
Common causes include:
constipation or irritable bowel syndrome
urinary tract infections (UTIs)
sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Most causes of pelvic pain are not serious. But there a few conditions that cause pelvic pain and need emergency treatment, such as appendicitis and peritonitis.
Pelvic pain in women
Pelvic pain is more common in women and common causes include:
· conditions affecting female reproductive organs, such as an ovarian cyst or endometriosis
Rarely it could be something more serious, like an ectopic pregnancy, womb cancer or ovarian cancer.
Pelvic pain in men
Pelvic pain can sometimes be caused by conditions affecting the prostate, such as prostatitis.
Diagnosis
Because many different disorders can cause pelvic pain, determining what's causing your chronic pelvic pain often requires a process of elimination.
Your doctor may ask you to keep a journal of your pain and other symptoms in addition to a detailed interview about your pain, personal health history, and family history.
Your doctor may recommend the following tests or exams:
Pelvic exam. This may reveal infections, abnormal growths, or tense pelvic floor muscles. Your doctor examines you for tender spots. Inform your doctor if you experience any discomfort during the exam, particularly if the pain is similar to the pain you've been experiencing.
Lab tests. Your doctor may order lab tests during the pelvic exam to check for infections such as chlamydia or gonorrhea. Your doctor may also request blood tests to check your blood cell counts and urinalysis to rule out a urinary tract infection.
Ultrasound. This test generates precise images of structures within your body using high-frequency sound waves. This method is particularly useful for detecting masses or cysts in the ovaries, uterus, or fallopian tubes.
Other imaging tests. Your doctor may recommend abdominal X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help detect abnormal structures or growths.
Laparoscopy. Your doctor will make a small incision in your abdomen and insert a thin tube attached to a small camera during this surgical procedure (laparoscope). Your doctor can use the laparoscope to examine your pelvic organs and look for abnormal tissues or signs of infection. This test is particularly useful for detecting endometriosis and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.
Finding the underlying cause of chronic pelvic pain can be a long process, and in some cases, a clear explanation may never be found.
With patience and open communication, however, you and your doctor can develop a treatment plan that helps you live a full life with minimal discomfort.
Treatment
The goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
If your doctor can pinpoint a specific cause, treatment will focus on that cause. However, if a cause can't be identified, treatment will focus on managing your pain and other symptoms. For many women, the optimal approach involves a combination of treatments.
Medications
Depending on the cause, your doctor may recommend a number of medications to treat your condition, such as:
Pain relievers. Over-the-counter pain remedies, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), may provide partial relief from your pelvic pain. Sometimes a prescription pain reliever may be necessary. Pain medication alone, however, rarely solves the problem of chronic pain.
Hormone treatments. Some women find that the days when they have pelvic pain may coincide with a particular phase of their menstrual cycle and the hormonal changes that control ovulation and menstruation. When this is the case, birth control pills or other hormonal medications may help relieve pelvic pain.
Antibiotics. If an infection is the source of your pain, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics.
Antidepressants. Some types of antidepressants can be helpful for chronic pain. Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline, nortriptyline (Pamelor) and others, seem to have pain-relieving as well as antidepressant effects. They may help improve chronic pelvic pain even in women who don't have depression.
Other therapies
Your doctor may recommend specific therapies or procedures as a part of your treatment for chronic pelvic pain. These may include:
Physical therapy. Stretching exercises, massage, and other relaxation techniques may help treat your chronic pelvic pain. A physical therapist may assist you with these techniques and help you develop coping mechanisms for pain. During stretching exercises, physical therapists may use a medical device called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to stimulate nearby nerve pathways. A psychological technique known as biofeedback can help you identify areas of restricted muscle tension in order to achieve a state of relaxation.
Neurostimulation (spinal cord stimulation). This treatment involves implanting a device that blocks nerve pathways so that the pain signal can't reach the brain. It may be helpful, depending on the cause of your pelvic pain.
Trigger point injections. If your doctor finds specific points where you feel pain, you may benefit from having a numbing medicine injected into those painful spots (trigger points). The medicine, usually a long-acting local anesthetic, can block pain and ease discomfort.
Psychotherapy. If your pain could be intertwined with depression, sexual abuse, a personality disorder, a troubled marriage or a family crisis, you may find it helpful to talk with a psychologist or psychiatrist. There are different types of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and biofeedback. Regardless of the underlying cause of your pain, psychotherapy can help you develop strategies for coping with the pain.
Surgery
To correct an underlying problem that causes chronic pelvic pain, your doctor may recommend a surgical procedure, such as:
Laparoscopic surgery. If you have endometriosis, doctors can remove the adhesions or endometrial tissue using laparoscopic surgery. During laparoscopic surgery, your surgeon inserts a slender viewing instrument (laparoscope) through a small incision near your navel and inserts instruments to remove endometrial tissue through one or more additional small incisions.
Hysterectomy. In rare complicated cases, your doctors may recommend removal of your uterus (hysterectomy), fallopian tubes (salpingectomy) or ovaries (oophorectomy). There are important health consequences to having this procedure. Your doctor will discuss the benefits and risks in detail before recommending this option.
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