Acute Pelvic Pain Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Pelvic pain is the pain located in the pelvic region or lower abdomen and can affect both men and women. Sometimes this pain can radiate to the lower back and to the thighs. Different types of diseases may cause the pelvic pain and it may be a part of a symptom. This pain is more commonly found in women than in men.

It can be of two types: acute or chronic. Acute pain is severe, short duration and immediate and is common. It is often seen in people who have had surgery. Chronic pain is which extends and lasts much longer. The pelvic pain experienced may be mild, moderate or severe which increases gradually. It could be a sudden sharp pain which comes and goes or a constant dull aching pain. These pains may be noticeable during menstruation, while passing urine or during sexual intercourse. Pelvic pain may take place due to problems in areas like urinary system, reproductive system, nervous system or the lower intestinal tract. The pain in women is often related to the menstrual cycle or the female reproductive system. Acute Pelvic pain in women could be due to the following reasons:

1. Miscarriage: Miscarriage is the loss of pregnancy and one of its symptoms may be pain or cramps in abdomen area.

2. Ectopic Pregnancy: When the fertilized egg attaches or implants itself somewhere other than the lining of the uterus, it is known as ectopic pregnancy. This may cause pelvic pain and the woman may feel cramping or lower abdominal pain in this condition.

3. Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: This is the condition of infection of the reproductive organs in female and can be detected if one has chronic pelvic pain.

4. Ovarian Cysts: Most of the cysts in the ovary are harmless but some can cause pain that is constant and dull. This pain may radiate to the lower back and the thighs too.

5. Endometriosis: Pain in pelvic area is the main symptom of this condition.

6. Ovarian Cancer: This cancer can result in pelvic discomfort and pain.

7. Menstrual Cramps: This causes dull cramping pain in the lower abdominal area.

8. Uterine Fibroids: These fibroids may cause pressure or pain in the pelvic area.

Some of the other causes of pelvic pain can be constipation, kidney stones, urinary tract infection, appendicitis, Colon cancer or ulcerative colitis.

If one experiences pelvic pain, you should visit the doctor to get a checkup. Since there are a number of possible causes for pain in the pelvic region, the doctor may do various tests to diagnose the underlying problem. Some of the tests the doctor might do are MRI or magnetic resonance imaging, ultra sound imaging or computed tomography to detect the problem by the process of elimination. The treatment will depend on the type of problem diagnosed. For some condition, simple medications may be used like anti inflammatory, oral contraceptive pills or anti depressants. For other problems surgery like hysterectomy or laparoscopy may be performed. Other treatments include muscle relaxants, exercises, heat therapy or nerve blocks. It is important to get the right treatment for pelvic pain according to the cause.