Managing Chronic Pelvic Pain

An article in Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, covered the prevalence, challenges to sufferers, and difficulties of managing chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Although CPP is common, there has been little research on how best to manage it. One of the difficulties is the variety of symptoms coming from a variety of organs in a woman's pelvis. The authors of the study believe that CPP, like other chronic pain conditions, should be treated by a multidisciplinary team, potentially including, along with a gynecologist, a physiotherapist, nutritionist, and psychologist. The biopsychosocial integration of treatments might include an improvement in diet, analgesia, hormone therapy, and lifestyle changes.

In addition to patients making necessary adjustments, new distinctions have been made regarding definitions of pain. The ICD-11 defines all pain lasting more than 3 months as "chronic." The authors of the study believe this will help expedite treatment for women who have not been taken seriously, "and render many of the epidemiological data out of date." CPP "remains a long way behind other chronic pain conditions" and increased research is needed.

 

Read the journal article.

Other Categories:

• multidisciplinary pain management

• pelvic pain

• women's health