Principles & Practice of Pain Medicine > Part IV. Pain by Anatomic Location > D. Abdomen, Pelvis, and Genitalia > Chapter 35. Pelvic Pain Anastasia Kucharski and Jyotsna Nagda

Pelvic Pain: Introduction

"Pelvic pain is a complicated topic and a clinical challenge, because the very definition of this pain can vary. The pelvis has a formal anatomic description; however, pelvic pain can refer to pain experienced in the general pelvic cavity or pain that is synonymous with gynecologic pain. In addition, gynecologic pelvic pain, although potentially acute or chronic, can refer to chronic pain with or without an anatomic lesion. Under these circumstances the parameters for describing pelvic pain also fluctuate. In the most general context, pelvic pain can be visceral, somatic, and neuropathic. Causal categories are traumatic, mechanical, and psychological. Organ systems include the genitourinary, gastrointestinal, neurologic, and musculoskeletal. The treatment of pelvic pain encompasses not only discoveries in clinical physiology and pharmacology, but also the social and intellectual assumptions behind the clinical practice...."