Our Pelvic Pain Services
Pelvic pain affects up to 1 in 5 women in Australia. It may arise from any of the multiple organs in the pelvis, namely, the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, bladder and bowel. It can be caused by a number of conditions.
Doing a thorough assessment of the pelvic pain is key to finding the cause, formulating the diagnosis, and then providing treatment. Your GP at Evoca will take the time to gather a full and extensive history, understanding your symptoms well before arranging any necessary investigations. Once your GP has an
understanding of your history and symptoms, they will provide options for treatment, or a referral if necessary. Managing pelvic pain often requires a multidisciplinary approach given the response of the pelvic muscles to pain arising from the pelvic organs, as well as the brain’s response to this. As such your GP at Evoca may also refer you on to specialist pelvic floor physiotherapists and psychologists to help in the holistic management of the pain. See below for a list of types of pelvic pain:
- Menstrual pain – pain relating to periods is very common and over 90% of women experience menstrual pain at some point in their lives
- Ovulation – many women experience lower pelvic cramping around the time of ovulation, commonly mid cycle
- Endometriosis – this is caused when cells that line the uterus begin to grow in other parts of the body such as on the fallopian tubes, bowels and bladder. These cells undergo the same menstrual changes as those inside the uterus, however, with no means of escape, they build up and cause scarring which results in pain
- Adenomyosis – this is similar to endometriosis, but the abnormal cell growth occurs in the muscular wall of the uterus, and giving rise to similar symptoms, and additionally painful heavy periods with painful intercourse
- Pelvic muscle pain – muscles in and around the pelvis may contract in response to pain arising from any of the organs in the pelvis. This contraction, though initially intermittent can become more constant and give rise to constant pelvic pain
- Pelvic infection/inflammation – this commonly arises from STIs which haven’t been treated in a timely manner, though can occur from other infective sources. The infection is initially low down in the genital tract in the vagina, which then ascends and involves the cervix followed by the uterus and fallopian tubes. The inflammation arising from the infection causes pain
- Vulval pain – the external party of the female genitalia including the clitoris and labia can become painful as a result of irritation, infection, inflammation and trauma. While this is usually a transient symptom and can be resolved when the cause is identified and treated, occasionally vulvodynia (vulva pain) can become chronic in nature and sever, affecting the ability to use tampons or even have intercourse. In this scenario a condition called vaginismus may arise in which the vagina also becomes painful in these scenarios
- Recurrent UTI – repeated urinary tract infections can cause chronic pelvic pain
- Intersitital cystitis – this occurs as a result of chronic inflammation of the bladder lining without urinary tract infection, but usually with symptoms of such, for example urgency and frequency of urination and pain on passing urine, usually in the bladder or pelvic area
- Bowel problems – conditions which cause pain in the bowel such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and chronic constipation, can also cause pain in the pelvis due to the proximity of the bowel to the pelvic organs.
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