Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
This is a difficult and sensitive condition for patients to talk about. There are not any outward signs of ‘disease’ and patients tend to feel despair at being misunderstood.
There is a lot of taboo relating to pain in the pelvic regions, in particular associated with sexual dysfunction.
Symptoms and Causes
You might experience:
- Burning sensations
- Constant need to pass urine
- Difficulty wearing jeans or trousers
- Unable to sit for more than a few minutes
- Always fidgeting- trying to find a comfortable position
- Frightened to go out of the house because of frequent toilet requirements
Diagnosis and Treatment Options
We have experience in dealing sensitively with patients who suffer pelvic pain from:
- Endometriosis.
- Irritable bladder and bowel.
- Pain in the perineum (urogenital and anal areas).
Chronic pains in these areas are due to a mixture of muscle and nerve pain.
A common misconception is that doing ‘pelvic floor exercises’ can help the situation. Pelvic floor exercises tighten the pelvic floor muscles and this can aggravate the pain that is already present especially with overactive muscles. This will need special assessment and diagnostic tests so proper treatment can be planned.
We aim to initially reduce the severe pain and discomfort and then re-introduce ‘normal’ sensations thereby ‘re setting’ the way the brain processes pain.
