What Does Pelvic Pain Feel Like?

I am going to answer the common question: what does pelvic pain feel like ?

Pelvic pain in women may affect any lady no matter her age and may sometimes occur with no apparent cause. Usually, medical examination of this pain may take different forms but a full medical history of the patient as well as the gynecological examination makes an integral part of pelvic pain examination. An ultrasound scan may also be undertaken but this will be dependent on the severity of the situation. This tells you that the medical examination will be greatly influenced by the degree of severity. Normally, an ultrasound scan is undertaken when your gynecologist rules out any serious underlying problem.

What Causes Pelvic Pain in Women?

What is important about pelvic pain in women is that it may sometimes pose no serious threat to the patient. When you realize that ultrasound scan; which has a much higher negative predictive value, is being done to you, then you do not have to worry much as this means that the underlying problem is not yet out of hand.

It is crucial to note that pelvic pain in women may also be classified as chronic or acute. Usually, acute pain has no long history and could be severe whenever it occurs. In young ladies, this pain could be caused by ectopic pregnancy and as such, carrying out a pregnancy test can be the only way to erase all the doubts.

Ovarian cysts (torsion and rupture), as well as pelvic inflammation, are other key causes of this pelvic pain in women and young ladies. Surprisingly, acute pain can also be a result of ovulation. pelvic pain in women

On the other hand, chronic pelvic pain or longstanding pain, as it is commonly referred- owing to its prolonged presence, could have other different causative factors to the acute pain. However, these factors could be overlapping. Just like in acute pain, a normal ultrasound scan to ladies with this pain could be an indication that no major gynecological condition is present.

Normally, chronic pelvic pain in women is as a result of previous pains that were never properly handled and as such, there could be a possible reoccurrence. Hydrosalpinges or simply fallopian tubes swellings may cause this pain. Adhesion, which is associated with low ovary mobility as well as stagnant pelvis fluids, also causes chronic pelvic pain. Endometriosis and degenerating fibrosis are other causes of this pain. Other non-gynecological causes of chronic pain may include irritable bowel syndrome, painful bladder syndrome, diverticulitis and pelvic floor pain.

Diagnosis of Pelvic Pain in Women

Due to the multiplicity of causes of pelvic pain, pinpointing a specific cause is an enigma to the gynecological fraternity. However, there are a number of diagnostic methods that may be employed:

An extensive physical and historical examination is crucial for accessing pelvic pain in women. The lower back, hips, the abdomen, and the pelvis are normally considered during this process.

Lab tests, which are heavily guided by the results of the historical and physical, are carried out as well. This may include the lymphocytes count, urinalysis, sexually transmitted diseases tests and pregnancy tests to ascertain ectopic pregnancy.

Ultrasound scans around the pelvic area may be recommended so as to thoroughly scrutinize pelvic pain in women causes. This may help in detecting pelvic masses that may include uterine fibroid and ovarian cysts. However, a major shortcoming of the ultrasound scan is that it has little or no use in the diagnosis of the non-gynecological conditions.

Chronic pelvic pain in women is sometimes diagnosed by laparoscopy. This is a surgical procedure that is useful in determining endometriosis and chronic pelvic inflammatory disease as the key causative factors of this condition. General anesthesia is given to induce sleep and suppress the pain. When the test is normal, treatment of non-gynecological causes will be focused on. However, if the test is abnormal, the specific area may be biopsied during the surgical procedure.

Coping Up With Pelvic Pain in Women

Psychological counseling may be helpful especially when a woman suffers from ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage. Any form of psychosocial support such as psychotherapy, whereby you meet other stakeholders such as the psychiatrists, psychologists and/or social workers for focused group discussions to discuss emotional responses to living with chronic pain, pelvic pain in women, treatment successes and failures and personal experiences.

Local or even online communities may be helpful in offering support to overcome the tendency to withdraw and become isolated in pain. Also, from these communities; you will get the necessary support and encouragement in your attempts to pursue more effective management of these pain. Relaxation techniques such as meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, self-hypnosis, and biofeedback may be helpful in easing the chronic pelvic pain in women.

Pelvic Pain in Women – What Does Pelvic Pain Feel Like? Last Updated: 6/10/2017

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