What is Lower Abdominal Pelvic Pain?
Lower abdominal pain refers to discomfort or pain that is felt below the belly button, in the area between the pelvic bones. This region includes various organs such as the intestines, bladder, uterus (in females), and reproductive organs.
Learn About Chronic Pelvic Pain
How is Lower Abdominal Pelvic Pain Measured?
In medicine, we break the causes of lower abdominal pain into two separate categories:
- Acute, which is pain in the lower abdominal and pelvic region lasting less than 3 months.
- Chronic, which is pain in the lower abdominal and pelvic region lasting greater than 3 months.
In women, it can be a challenging clinical scenario given the number of organ systems, nerves, muscles, and ligaments in the pelvic area. The differential diagnosis for acute pelvic pain is broken up into four parts:
- Gastrointestinal
- Gynecological
- Urinary
- Neuromusculoskeletal
- Other
Differential Diagnosis in the Gynecological realm for acute lower abdominal pelvic pain includes pelvic inflammatory disease, degenerating uterine fibroid, tubo-ovarian abscess, ectopic pregnancy, ovarian torsion, and ovarian cyst rupture.
What Can Cause Lower Abdominal Pelvic Pain?
Common causes of lower abdominal pelvic pain lasting more than 6 months are:
- Endometriosis
- Adenomyosis
- Fibroids
- Peri-menopause pelvic pain
- Post-partum pelvic pain
- Pelvic floor muscle spasm and nerve pain
Pelvic floor muscle spasm and nerve pain is present in 86% of chronic pelvic pain cases. It can either be a stand-alone cause of persistent pelvic pain or secondary to an underlying condition such as Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, or Fibroids.
Is Lower Abdominal Pelvic Pain Normal?
Lower abdominal pelvic pain is not normal to have, and we would advise seeing a healthcare provider if you are having any lower abdominal or pelvic pain. All the diagnosis of acute and pelvic pain mentioned above require treatment. It is important to see a medical provider for both acute and chronic pelvic pain symptoms, as they are not normal to have.
At Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine, we help patients understand the root causes of their symptoms and we have a proprietary, simple office-based procedure to directly treat the spastic pelvic floor muscles and inflamed and irritated pelvic floor nerves. The pelvic floor muscles and nerves are often ignored as they are a “silent” culprit in chronic lower abdominal pelvic pain, but they should not be ignored, and the treatment is a simple procedure.
What is a Pelvic Pain Specialist?
How is Lower Abdominal Pelvic Pain Diagnosed?
The diagnosis for lower abdominal pelvic pain includes a history and examination. Imaging, cultures, and blood work are often required particularly in the acute stage of lower abdominal pelvic pain. Your provider will likely ask about your symptoms; location, onset, character, radiation of pain, what makes your pain better or worse. Your provider will also ask about your gynecological history, past medical and surgical history, family history of pelvic pain, past imaging or treatment, and last menstrual cycle. Your appointment should include a history, examination, explanation of differential diagnosis and treatment plan to get you feeling better.
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