Pelvic pain is experienced by both females and males. Symptoms vary between sharp or dull, intermittent or constant. It may occur only at specific times such as during intercourse, menstruation or urination. Pregnancy is a major cause for females; prostatitis is a major cause for males. Pelvic pain is always worth a mention to a doctor because it can almost always be treated.
Yoga
Yoga may help relieve pelvic main in women and men. Pelvic pain often manifests itself in the sacroiliac, or S-I, joint, where the pelvis meets the ilium. Yoga can improve this type of pelvic pain when proper precautions are taken. Yoga Journal advises those suffering from pelvic pain to avoid poses such as forward bending, head-to-knee and bound angle. Back bends help strengthen the area, as do standing poses such as triangle pose.
Pelvic Support Belts
The Pelvic Instability Network recommends trochanteric belts and girdles for pelvic pain resulting from symphysis pubic dysfunction or sacroiliac pain. These complaints, resulting from loosening of the pelvic ligaments, are more common during pregnancy. Orthopedic footwear can help enhance the supportive effects of the belts.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics treat pelvic pain resulting from pelvic inflammatory disease, or PID, and acute infectious prostatitis. Pelvic pain associated either of these conditions often leads patients to believe they need to urinate more frequently, even when they have little urine. Because these are conditions that can spread---usually to the kidneys---early intervention is key to success. Antibiotic use may be short- or long-term, depending on the severity of the condition.
Surgery
Acute pelvic pain in the early stages of pregnancy could signal a life-threatening condition called ectopic pregnancy, in which the embryo grows outside the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. This condition usually leads to the rupture of the embryo and the fallopian tube unless corrected with surgery. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists warns women who suspect ectopic pregnancy to speak to their birth professionals immediately.
Non-cancerous fibroids in the uterus may cause pelvic pain. According to the ACOG, their cause is unknown, although high levels of estrogen are suspected. Because fibroids grow rapidly and become twisted, they are usually surgically removed before pelvic pressure worsens.
Occasionally surgery is necessary for men with severe and chronic prostatitis or interstitial cystitis, although the Cleveland Clinic recommends this only as a last tier treatment.
