What is Pelvic Pain?
Whether you are experiencing pelvic cramps, pelvic pain during sex, chronic pubic bone pain or the pain in your lower abdomen that radiates down to your thighs, buttocks and lower back, you need to seek treatment quickly.
It’s nearly impossible for a woman to self-diagnose and find the reason for her pelvic pain, because other common symptoms like heavy menstrual bleeding frequently go together with pelvic pain and can lead to more complications if left untreated. Your Viva Eve gynecologist is a pelvic pain specialist NYC and their goal is pinpoint the source of your pain, which usually can be traced to a single source, such as your:
- Digestive system
- Reproductive system
- Urinary tract
- Musculoskeletal system
Symptoms Vary Widely
Depending on the cause and the source of your pain, initially you may feel symptoms that are hard to connect to pelvic pain or the more common women’s health issues. These symptoms include:
- Constant or intermittent pain
- Pain that’s localized in one place
- Radiating pain that goes down your legs
- Sharp or acute pain
- Dull pain
- Sudden pain
- Chronic pain that lasts for more than 12 weeks
- Cramps
- Pain that’s more apparent during certain activities
Finding the Cause of Your Pelvic Pain
The location of your pain and the severity of your discomfort —along with various tests performed during a pelvic exam – help your pelvic pain specialist NYC discover the source of your pain. Gynecologic issues that lead to lower pelvic pain and sharp pain in vaginal areas include:
Causes
- Infections, such as a yeast infection, a sexually transmitted disease, or vaginitis
- A tumor that may or may not be malignant
- Cysts or fibroids
- Ectopic pregnancy, sometimes the cause of pelvic pain during pregnancy
- Pelvic cramps, usually the reason for pain during menstruation
- Endometriosis, which happens when uterine wall cells start to grow outside your uterus and leads to a sharp pain in the vaginal area
Other conditions that are not always associated with gynecology, but may be a source of pelvic pain include:
- IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome
- Muscle spasms
- Constipation that’s chronic
- Hernia
- Fibromyalgia
- Sexual abuse
How Is the Cause for Pelvic Pain Diagnosed?
STEP 01
Women experience pelvic pain in several different ways, so your Viva Eve pelvic pain specialist NYC needs to know exactly when it’s worst. He or she will ask if you experience:
-Pelvic pain after sex
-Pelvic pain during sex
-Pelvic pain during pregnancy
-Pubic bone pain
-Any sharp pain in the vaginal area
-Chronic pelvic pain syndrome
-Pelvic cramps
Lower left abdominal pain in women often is due to ovulation and very often goes away by itself in a day or two, but if the pain lingers, call a Viva Eve pelvic pain specialist for a diagnosis. Pain on your right side, however, may be due to appendicitis, which constitutes an immediate emergency situation.
STEP 02
Your NYC pelvic pain specialist will conduct a physical exam to try to pinpoint the source of your unusual pelvic pain. This allows him/her to determine which of your body’s systems most likely is involved. Blood tests, a urinalysis, pap smear, and pregnancy tests are routine.
When other tests still are needed to find a precise diagnosis, your pelvic pain NYC doctor may recommend:
-Laparoscopy, a minor surgery, during which your doctor makes a tiny incision and inserts a light and lens to inspect your abdominal area for unusual growths
-Ultrasound relies on sound waves to give your doctor an image
-MRI provides three-dimensional images
-CT scan is a more in-depth type of X-ray
-Colonoscopy, a test to inspect your colon
How to Treat Pelvic Pain
- Medications often are the first line of defense for treating your pain. You may need antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicine, oral contraceptives, or pain pills for a short period of time.
- Depending on what is causing your pelvic pain, surgery may be recommended.
- Stress relief, relaxation techniques, and physical therapy is usually recommended for chronic pelvic pain syndrome, also called CPPS, which seldom responds to treatment.
- Dietary changes may be recommended by your Viva Eve pelvic pain doctor to help overcome pelvic pain that has no direct source.
- Environmental changes, discontinuing activities that cause you the most pain, and modifications in activities also may help alleviate pelvic pain that doesn’t respond to conventional treatments.
- If your pelvic pain specialist determines that the cause of your pelvic pain comes from another body system, such as your stomach or muscles, you may be referred to a specialist in that area for treatment.
