Understanding Chronic Pelvic Pain: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

January 15, 2024

Chronic Pelvic Pain is one of the common symptoms in women. It is mainly characterized by lower abdominal pain or lower back pain, depression, severe pain, etc. Today, I have compiled the causes and symptoms of chronic pelvic pain for you, as follows:


Symptoms of Chronic Pelvic Pain

Common symptoms include chronic pelvic pain, increased yellowish discharge, tubal inflammatory infertility, prolonged menstrual periods or bleeding during ovulation, ectopic pregnancy, etc.

Causes of Chronic Pelvic Pain

Chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, endometriosis, uterine adenomyosis, pelvic adhesions, and other organic lesions can cause pain. However, many patients have only slight pathological changes or no organic changes. Adhesions and endometriosis may cause distortion of pelvic organs, but not necessarily pain. Even if pain occurs, its location and degree may not be correlated with the location and severity of the lesions. It may be related to traumatic experiences, unhappy marriages, and sexual dysfunction.

Clinical Manifestations of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women

1. Lower abdominal pain or lower back pain

It can be the entire lower abdomen, or it can be at the bilateral or unilateral iliac fossa, or it may not have a clear location. It is often accompanied by vaginal discomfort and is characterized by continuous or intermittent dull pain or aching pain. Patients cannot determine the factors that worsen or relieve the pain.


2. Depression

Pain is caused or aggravated by sexual intercourse but does not affect sexual life. Patients have significant symptoms of depression, such as loss of appetite, fatigue, insomnia, loss of sexual desire or lack of interest in anything, impulsivity, and poor self-control.

3. Abnormal illness behavior

There is a kind of somatic bias, believing that they have a disease. Doctors try their best to treat it, but the pain still exists.

Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women

1. Medication

Commonly used drugs: 1. Analgesics, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), combinations of NSAIDs and mild anesthetics, and pure anesthetics. 2. Antidepressants not only combat depressive emotions but also have unknown mechanisms of analgesic effects. The efficacy of antidepressants in the treatment of chronic pain is not very reliable, but they are widely used because they can be used as substitutes for anesthetics and have the advantages of being not easily abused and having low dependence. 3. Organ-specific drug treatment In the process of treating CPP, it can be targeted at gastrointestinal symptoms, bladder irritation symptoms, and skeletal muscle pain, etc. 4. Other drugs such as medroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-Provera) can reduce pelvic congestion by inhibiting ovarian function to relieve related pain. GnRH-a has been recommended for the differential diagnosis of gynecological and non-gynecological causes of pain.

2. Laparoscopic treatment

Laparoscopic surgery for chronic pelvic pain should be determined according to the specific situation.


3. Psychological treatment

Patients without obvious organic lesions but with psychological disorders should receive psychological treatment. It can start with simple methods, such as education and elimination of doubts, and gradually proceed to specific psychological treatment techniques, such as relaxation therapy, cognitive therapy, and support therapy.

4. Other treatments

This includes physical therapy, massage, etc.

Which Foods to Eat for Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women

1. Light and easily digestible diet

You should consume light and easily digestible foods, such as adzuki beans, mung beans, cucumber, lentils, and purslane, etc.

2. Promote blood circulation and resolve stagnation

You should eat foods that promote blood circulation and resolve stagnation, such as hawthorn, peach kernel, Fructus aurantii immaturus, orange seeds, orange peel, rose flower, and kumquat, etc.

3. Protein supplementation

Supplement protein appropriately, such as lean pork, duck, goose, and quail, etc.

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