Pelvic pain occurs in the lower abdomen, making it difficult to differentiate from abdominal pain. The pain may be crampy and may come and go. It may increase in intensity, occurring in waves. Often, pelvic pain occurs every month during the menstrual cycle or just before the periods. Midtown West pelvic pain specialists help women diagnosed with pelvic pain to cope and also eliminate it.
What Causes Pelvic Pain?
Endometriosis: A condition in which the tissues from the uterus grow outside your uterus. Because it happens outside the uterus, tissues and blood don’t exit the uterus through the vagina, but remain in the abdomen leading to fibrous and painful cyst adhesions.
Musculoskeletal problems. Conditions that affect your joints, connective tissues, and bones, such as pelvic floor muscle tension, inflammation of the pubic joint, or fibromyalgia can lead to repetitive pelvic pain.
Fibroids. They are non-cancerous uterine growths that cause a feeling of heaviness or pressure in the lower abdomen. In most cases, they don’t cause sharp pain unless deprived of blood supply and degenerate.
Psychological factors. Chronic stress, depression, or physical and sexual abuse may increase chronic pelvic pain.
What Is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?
PID is an inflammation and infection of women’s pelvic organs. The infections are transmitted sexually with bacteria that spread to the uterus and fallopian tubes or ovaries. Symptoms of the pelvic inflammatory disease can be mild.
Symptoms of PID
Some women do not have signs and symptoms of PID. As a result, they might not realize they have the disease until they develop chronic pelvic pain or have a problem getting pregnant. Most women have symptoms that include heavy periods, pain around the pelvis or lower tummy, painful periods, bleeding after sex, and unusual vaginal discharge.
Causes of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
PID is mostly caused by bacterial infection spreading from the cervix or vagina to the higher reproductive organs. It is usually caused by STIs, such as gonorrhea or chlamydia. Having unprotected sex with a person who has an STI can cause PID.
How Is Chronic Pelvic Pain Diagnosed?
First, visit a doctor, and he will perform a pelvic exam on you to look for complications with your reproductive system. You may have to take tests such as pregnancy tests, tests for sexually transmitted infections, and urine and blood tests to look for signs of other infections.
Emotional issues also play a role in chronic pain. The doctor may ask questions to determine past physical or sexual abuse and if stress and depression add to your problem. If the original test doesn’t show any cause, you may have other tests showing the organs in your belly. The tests may include MRI, CT scan of the pelvis, and transvaginal ultrasound.
You may also have minor surgery known as laparoscopy. The doctor performs this surgery by putting a thin, lighted tube with a micro camera through a small incision in your belly.
Finding the cause of pelvic pain can be a frustrating and lengthy process. You can offer to help by noting when the pain happens, the pain type, and what brings it on. You give the doctors clues on what to treat, and if the main cause is not found, the doctor can easily prescribe some treatments.