Non Gynaecological Causes of Chronic Pelvic Pain
Many organs occupy the pelvis, beside the genital tract. The list includes bowel, urinary bladder and ureters, muscles, fascia as well as blood vessels, nerves and bones.
Collectively non-gynaecological causes of pelvic pain in women may exceed the number of gynaecological ones depending on the age group and population served. However, as the gynaecology clinic is usually the first stop in the clinical journey of these patients, a bias towards a gynaecological diagnosis is always present. Accordingly, a broader look into the problem is necessary and one should remember other causes including:
It is also important to think of all possible causes of chronic pelvic pain rather than one single cause. The presence of a gynaecological problem does not rule out an associated or totally independent gastrointestinal or urological cause. Furthermore, viscero-visceral, viscero-somatic or somato-visceral conversion of pain adds to the confusion in this problem. A condition may start in one organ but converts as a neuropathic pain in a different organ or area.
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