

Welcome back! In part 1 of this blog we discussed how pelvic pain can affect anyone, regardless of their age or gender. We also discussed that pelvic pain can feel many different ways and may occur in different body locations and be triggered by different activities. Now that we have the basics under our belt, we can march forward and start to explore different ways to manage and treat pelvic pain. First steps Now that you have a name for what you are experiencing, it is important to get a handle on the various characteristics of the pain you are experiencing. This information will provide valuable insights to the clinicians who are treating you. Some questions to think about include:
- How long has this pain been going on?
- Chronic pelvic pain is classified as pain that has gone on for 3 or more months, this type of pain likely has musculoskeletal involvement and will likely require the help of a pelvic floor physical therapist in addition to medical intervention
- Also try and think if there were any significant events around the time of your symptoms onset; these events may be physical like spraining an ankle or emotional, like moving or starting a new job
- What makes it worse and what makes it better?
- Sometimes you won’t know and that's ok too.
- Where is the pain?
- What does the pain feel like?
- Describing the character of pain can be really tricky. Here are some words we hear a lot
- Burning
- Itching
- Stabbing
- Buzzingwork
- Aching
- Gnawing
- Sharp, Shooting
- Dull
- Tingling/numbness
- Describing the character of pain can be really tricky. Here are some words we hear a lot
- Colorectal
- Gastroenterology
- Gynecology
- Physical therapy
- Physiatry
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Neurology
- Urology
- Urogynecology
Share