Pelvic Pain

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Images

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Men

Summary

Pelvic pain occurs mostly in the lower abdomen area. The pain might be steady, or it might come and go. It can be a sharp and stabbing pain in a specific spot, or a dull pain that is spread out. If the pain is severe, it might get in the way of your daily activities.

If you're a woman, you might feel pain during your period. It could also happen when you have sex. Pelvic pain can be a sign that there is a problem with one of the organs in your pelvic area, such as the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, cervix, or vagina. If you're a man, the cause could be problem with the prostate. In men and women, it could be a symptom of infection, or a problem with the urinary tract, lower intestines, rectum, muscle, or bone. Some women have more than one cause of pelvic pain at the same time.

You might have to have lab, imaging, or other medical tests to find the cause of the pain. The treatment will depend on the cause, how bad the pain is, and how often it occurs.

NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Start Here

• Pelvic Pain (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Pudendal Neuralgia (Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center)

Symptoms

• What Are the Symptoms of Pelvic Pain? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• How Is Pelvic Pain Diagnosed? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Laparoscopy (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic Exam (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic laparoscopy - series (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Pelvis Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• How Is Pelvic Pain Treated? (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic Venous Disease (pelvic congestion syndrome or chronic pelvic pain) (Society of Interventional Radiology)

Related Issues

• Other Pelvic Pain FAQs (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) Also in Spanish
• Pelvic Fractures (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Chronic Pelvic Pain (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

Images

• Pelvic Exam (National Cancer Institute)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pelvic Pain (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pudendal Neuralgia (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Long-term effects of pelvic floor training in male chronic pelvic pain,...
• Article: The Benefits of an Integral HAMMAM Experience Combining Hydrotherapy and Swedish...
• Article: Sexual function in women with endometriosis and pelvic floor myofascial pain...
• Pelvic Pain -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

• Ultrasound: Pelvis (Nemours Foundation)

Men

• Prostatitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish