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The approach to a patient with pelvic pain should consider the very wide range
of potential causes. Causes may be gynecological (involve the female reproductive
tract), urological (involve the urinary system), gastrointestinal (involve the
bowels) or orthopedic (involve the muscles and bony skeleton).
The information that a physician elicits during the initial history, physical
examination, and laboratory evaluation often guides all subsequent management.
Therefore, taking adequate time to “get it right” from the beginning
is critically important in order to achieve optimal relief from the pain.
Unfortunately, physicians tend to have less and less time to spend with individual
patients due to increasingly demanding work schedules. Patients with pelvic
pain are encouraged to try to find a physician who is able to spend the significant
time it often takes to thoroughly investigate their problem.
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