Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Chronic Pelvic Nerve Pain

Pelvic nerve damage is caused thorough cuts during abdominal surgeries, diabetic neuropathy, trauma to and around nerves, excessive stretching during surgeries and excessive compressions like sitting for long on a bicycle seat. This condition becomes chronic if its symptoms persist for longer than expected, for 3-6 months.

Symptoms

Like other nerve related pain, chronic pelvic nerve pain symptoms include burning and stabbing like pain. This pain is not continuous, it comes and goes. However some activities like sitting and lying down aggravate the symptoms.

Symptoms of chronic pelvic pain differ, based on the nerve involved. There may be pain while sitting, which is relieved when standing, pain that radiates to sexual organs or lower back, pain in the perineum, pain during intercourse or pain while passing urine or bowel movements.

Treatment

Chronic pelvic pain is treated using any of the following methods:
1. Use of medications like NSAIDs or anti-convulsants
2. Spinal cord stimulation and sacral neuromodulation
3. Steroid injections
4. Cryotherapy
5. Nerve blocks

While genitofemoral neuropathy have a successful treatment rate, other types of pelvic pain is difficult to accurately diagnose and treat.

Coping with the problem

It is difficult to cope with any chronic pain condition. However here are a few ideas to help you cope with your chronic pelvic pain condition.

1. Maintain a pain journal where you note down when the pain comes and goes, and what worsens it. This will not only make it easier for your doctor to diagnose and treat the condition, it also helps you write down your feelings instead of keeping them inside you.

2. Relax. As stress increases pain, and not avoidable in the real world, learn to relax both your mind and body to reduce the pain.

3. Share your feelings with a trusted friend to help you cope with the condition. If you don't have any friend you can comfortably share your feelings with, visit a chronic pain forum. There are other people like you who will be more than happy to lend an ear and give you some advice at coping with your chronic pelvic pain.