Many people experience periodic pelvic pain for one reason or another. Women commonly experience pelvic pain monthly due to their menstrual cycles, with no other underlying issues. However, chronic pelvic pain is defined as experiencing pain in the pelvic region for six months or longer, according to FamilyDoctor.org. People experiencing chronic pelvic pain may feel severe and steady pain, intermittent pain, sharp pains, cramping and pressure or heaviness in the pelvis. Chronic pelvic pain can be a symptom of an underlying condition or a diagnosis in itself. Treatments for chronic pelvic pain often depend upon the underlying cause.
Birth Control Pills
Endometriosis is a condition caused when the cells lining the interior of the uterus attach to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, intestines, bladder or other internal organs in the pelvic cavity. Though the tissue is no longer in the uterus, it still acts like uterine tissue, shedding and bleeding every month in response to hormones that prompt the start of menstruation. When the uterine lining sheds and bleeds during normal menstruation, the blood and tissues exit the body through the vagina. When the abnormal tissue attached to the organs sheds and bleeds, it has no exit and therefore becomes trapped in the abdominal cavity, causing bloating, pain and, eventually, permanent scarring of the organs. Over time, this can lead to infertility as well as chronic pelvic pain. Physicians often prescribe birth control pills to control the hormones responsible for menstruation and help alleviate the symptoms of endometriosis, including chronic pelvic pain.
Nerve Ablation
When chronic pelvic pain appears to be neurological, a patient may consider a procedure known as nerve ablation. The MayoClinic.com explains that nerve ablation works by controlling the pain impulses sent to or from the pelvic region to lessen or stop the pain. There are several different techniques used by surgeons for nerve ablation, including removing targeted nerves, injecting medications directly into the nerve to block sensitivity or using heat and lasers to destroy nerve tissues.
Antidepressants and Counseling
Patients often experience pain because of psychological disorders such as depression, personality disorders, stress or sexual abuse. When physicians can find no physical cause for chronic pelvic pain, they may prescribe counseling and antidepressants. Often chronic pelvic pain can be psychosomatic, meaning that a persons psychological pain is causing physical symptoms.
FamilyDoctor.org explains that counseling can often help patients work out the true cause for their pain as well as provide psychological, spiritual and emotional comfort. Physicians commonly prescribe antidepressants to help treat chronic pelvic pain associated with depression. Physicians have found that tricyclic antidepressants have been shown to improve chronic pelvic pain even in women who did not have depression, according to the MayoClinic.com.
