Chronic pelvic pain refers to pain in the lower part of your tummy, the area between your belly button and between your hips. It can be a condition in its own right or a symptom of another health problem. If your Memorial City pelvic pain stems from another disease, treating that problem may be all needed to eliminate the pain. Sometimes identifying a single cause for chronic pelvic pain is not possible. In such cases, healthcare providers offer treatment to reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life.
What are the symptoms of chronic pelvic pain?
You might describe your chronic pain as a sharp, stabbing, or burning pain that happens suddenly or comes on slowly and doesn’t go away. Pelvic pain may also feel like a dull or heavy ache or feeling of pressure. In addition, you may experience pain during intercourse, when you sit for long periods, or while urinating or having a bowel movement.
The pain may worsen after standing for long periods but lying down may decrease the pain. For some people, the pain is mild and annoying; for others, it is so severe that it gets in the way of work, sleep, and exercise.
Like any other chronic pain problem, knowing when you should seek medical help might be difficult. But generally, you should visit your doctor if the discomfort disrupts your daily life or worsens your symptoms.
Causes of chronic pelvic pain
Chronic pelvic pain can have multiple causes; it might be due to an infection or a condition affecting one of the organs in the pelvic area. Sometimes pelvic pain is caused by other medical conditions such as interstitial cystitis – a condition associated with recurring bladder pain and frequent need to urinate. With interstitial cystitis, you may feel pelvic pain as your bladder fills, which temporarily improves after you empty your bladder.
Chronic pelvic pain may be caused by endometriosis – a condition in which tissue similar to the one from the lining of your womb grows outside the uterus. Like endometrial tissue, these deposits thicken, break down, and bleed each month as your hormone levels fluctuate. However, because the bleeding occurs outside the uterus, the blood and tissue remain in your abdomen, which may cause painful cysts and adhesions.
Pelvic pain may also stem from conditions affecting your musculoskeletal systems – bones, joints, and connective tissues. These conditions include pelvic floor muscle tension, pubic joint inflammation, fibromyalgia, or hernia.
Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease is also associated with pelvic pain; this often results from sexually transmitted infections that go untreated, causing scarring that involves your pelvic organs.
Noncancerous growths in your uterus (fibroids) can cause pressure or a feeling of heaviness in your pelvic region. They rarely cause sharp pain unless they start to degenerate due to deprivation of blood supply.
Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, such as bloating, constipation, or diarrhea, can also result in pelvic pain and pressure.
If you have chronic pelvic pain, visit your doctor at Memorial Women’s Specialists for a diagnosis to establish the cause of your pain.
