Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain

review OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 24 in-corpus citations
AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06+body, 2026-06-13

This review discusses the evaluation and management of chronic pelvic pain, emphasizing a multifactorial approach to network disorders rather than a single cause.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 · read from full text

This paper is a narrative review of chronic pelvic pain, describing how evaluation and management should consider a network of potentially interacting disorders across reproductive, gastrointestinal, urologic, musculoskeletal, psychological, and neurological systems, rather than seeking a single definitive cause. It summarizes diagnostic and treatment concepts encountered in clinical practice, including discussion of conditions commonly evaluated in chronic pelvic pain and how procedures or tools (for example, pain mapping with laparoscopy) may help. A major limitation is that it is restricted to disorders “we commonly encounter in our practice,” meaning it does not attempt a comprehensive coverage of all possible etiologies. Relevance to endometriosis: the review cites literature on endometriosis—such as comparisons of excision versus ablation, medical and hormonal therapies, and recurrence after hysterectomy—within the broader framework of managing chronic pelvic pain, though its main focus is not solely endometriosis.

Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common complaint of women presenting for gynecologic and primary care. Evaluation of CPP requires obtaining a careful history including not only obstetrical and gynecologic information but also screening for gastrointestinal, urologic, musculoskeletal, and neurological disorders. A detailed physical examination is also necessary. Management of CPP depends largely on the cause. Gynecologic causes include endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, adhesive disease, pelvic congestion syndrome, ovarian retention syndrome, ovarian remnant syndrome, adenomyosis, and leiomyomas. Some non-gynecologic causes are interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic floor tension myalgia, and abdominal myofascial pain syndrome. Treatments may be directed toward specific causes or may be targeted to general pain management. The most effective therapy may involve using both approaches. The diagnosis and treatment of each of the above disorders, and the management of CPP itself, is discussed.
Full text 13,916 characters · extracted from oa-doi-fallback · 3 sections · click to expand

Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain is a complex condition that requires evaluation of the reproductive, gastrointestinal, urologic, musculoskeletal, psychological, and neurological systems. Usually, diagnosis and management entail identifying a network of disorders rather than a single cause of pain with a definitive cure. Only disorders that we commonly encounter in our practice will be discussed in this review. Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance Howard FM. The role of laparoscopy in chronic pelvic pain: promise and pitfalls. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 1993;48(6):357–87. Mathias SD, Kuppermann M, Liberman RF, Lipschutz RC, Steege JF. Chronic pelvic pain: prevalence, health-related quality of life, and economic correlates. Obstet Gynecol. 1996;87(3):321–7. Chung MK, Chung RP, Gordon D. Interstitial cystitis and endometriosis in patients with chronic pelvic pain: The "Evil Twins" syndrome. JSLS. 2005;9(1):25–9. Zondervan KT, Yudkin PL, Vessey MP, Jenkinson CP, Dawes MG, Barlow DH, et al. Chronic pelvic pain in the community–symptoms, investigations, and diagnoses. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;184(6):1149–55. • Droz J, Howard FM. Use of the short-form McGill pain questionnaire as a diagnostic tool in women with chronic pelvic pain. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2011;18(2):211–7. Several of the McGill Pain Questionnaire descriptors had high negative predictive values but not high positive predictive values, which suggests that they have diagnostic usefulness in excluding but not predicting pelvic pain–related diagnoses. Overall, the McGill Pain Questionnaire descriptors were not as robust as diagnostic tools in the evaluation of women with chronic pelvic pain. • Chey WD, Nojkov B, Rubenstein JH, Dobhan RR, Greenson JK, Cash BD. The yield of colonoscopy in patients with non-constipated irritable bowel syndrome: results from a prospective, controlled US trial. Am J Gastroenterol. 2010;105(4):859–65. This study demonstrates that it is not necessary to perform routine colonoscopy to exclude serious pathology in all patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The procedure should be reserved for "alarm " signs that require further evaluation. Novick J, Miner P, Krause R, Glebas K, Bliesath H, Ligozio G, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of tegaserod in female patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2002;16(11):1877–88. Muller-Lissner SA, Fumagalli I, Bardhan KD, Pace F, Pecher E, Nault B, et al. Tegaserod, a 5-HT(4) receptor partial agonist, relieves symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome patients with abdominal pain, bloating and constipation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2001;15(10):1655–66. Choung RS, Herrick LM, Locke 3rd GR, Zinsmeister AR, Talley NJ. Irritable bowel syndrome and chronic pelvic pain: a population-based study. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2010;44(10):696–701. Waxman JA, Sulak PJ, Kuehl TJ. Cystoscopic findings consistent with interstitial cystitis in normal women undergoing tubal ligation. J Urol. 1998;160(5):1663–7. Gillenwater JY, Wein AJ. Summary of the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases Workshop on Interstitial Cystitis, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, August 28–29, 1987. J Urol. 1988;140(1):203–6. Hanno P. Is the potassium sensitivity test a valid and useful test for the diagnosis of interstitial cystitis? Against. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2005;16(6):428–9. Parsons CL, Zupkas P, Parsons JK. Intravesical potassium sensitivity in patients with interstitial cystitis and urethral syndrome. Urology. 2001;57(3):428–32. discussion 32–3. Taneja R. Intravesical lignocaine in the diagnosis of bladder pain syndrome. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct. 2010;21(3):321–4. • Giamberardino MA, Costantini R, Affaitati G, Fabrizio A, Lapenna D, Tafuri E, et al. Viscero-visceral hyperalgesia: characterization in different clinical models. Pain. 2010;151(2):307–22. This paper highlights an important concept in understanding chronic pelvic pain: that pain symptoms may involve multiple organ systems through neural crosstalk. Berkley KJ. A life of pelvic pain. Physiol Behav. 2005;86(3):272–80. Dimitrakov J, Kroenke K, Steers WD, Berde C, Zurakowski D, Freeman MR, et al. Pharmacologic management of painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis: a systematic review. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(18):1922–9. van Ophoven A, Pokupic S, Heinecke A, Hertle L. A prospective, randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind study of amitriptyline for the treatment of interstitial cystitis. J Urol. 2004;172(2):533–6. Foster Jr HE, Hanno PM, Nickel JC, Payne CK, Mayer RD, Burks DA, et al. Effect of amitriptyline on symptoms in treatment naive patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. J Urol. 2010;183(5):1853–8. Dawson TE, Jamison J. Intravesical treatments for painful bladder syndrome/ interstitial cystitis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;4:CD006113. Walter AJ, Hentz JG, Magtibay PM, Cornella JL, Magrina JF. Endometriosis: correlation between histologic and visual findings at laparoscopy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2001;184(7):1407–11. discussion 11–3. Muneyyirci-Delale O, Karacan M. Effect of norethindrone acetate in the treatment of symptomatic endometriosis. Int J Fertil Womens Med. 1998;43(1):24–7. Schlaff WD, Carson SA, Luciano A, Ross D, Bergqvist A. Subcutaneous injection of depot medroxyprogesterone acetate compared with leuprolide acetate in the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain. Fertil Steril. 2006;85(2):314–25. Selak V, Farquhar C, Prentice A, Singla A. Danazol for pelvic pain associated with endometriosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2001(4):CD000068. Petta CA, Ferriani RA, Abrao MS, Hassan D, Rosa ESJC, Podgaec S, et al. Randomized clinical trial of a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system and a depot GnRH analogue for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain in women with endometriosis. Hum Reprod. 2005;20(7):1993–8. Jacobson TZ, Duffy JM, Barlow D, Koninckx PR, Garry R. Laparoscopic surgery for pelvic pain associated with endometriosis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009(4):CD001300. Wright J, Lotfallah H, Jones K, Lovell D. A randomized trial of excision versus ablation for mild endometriosis. Fertil Steril. 2005;83(6):1830–6. • Healey M, Ang WC, Cheng C. Surgical treatment of endometriosis: a prospective randomized double-blinded trial comparing excision and ablation. Fertil Steril. 2010;94(7):2536–40. There is limited information on the efficacy of operative laparoscopic methods for the treatment of endometriosis. This is a small RCT that did not detect a difference in pain outcomes between ablation and excision treatments. Larger RCTs are necessary to determine the optimal surgical approach. Beretta P, Franchi M, Ghezzi F, Busacca M, Zupi E, Bolis P. Randomized clinical trial of two laparoscopic treatments of endometriomas: cystectomy versus drainage and coagulation. Fertil Steril. 1998;70(6):1176–80. Alborzi S, Momtahan M, Parsanezhad ME, Dehbashi S, Zolghadri J. A prospective, randomized study comparing laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy versus fenestration and coagulation in patients with endometriomas. Fertil Steril. 2004;82(6):1633–7. Latthe PM, Proctor ML, Farquhar CM, Johnson N, Khan KS. Surgical interruption of pelvic nerve pathways in dysmenorrhea: a systematic review of effectiveness. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2007;86(1):4–15. Zullo F, Palomba S, Zupi E, Russo T, Morelli M, Cappiello F, et al. Effectiveness of presacral neurectomy in women with severe dysmenorrhea caused by endometriosis who were treated with laparoscopic conservative surgery: a 1-year prospective randomized double-blind controlled trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003;189(1):5–10. Shakiba K, Bena JF, McGill KM, Minger J, Falcone T. Surgical treatment of endometriosis: a 7-year follow-up on the requirement for further surgery. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;111(6):1285–92. Namnoum AB, Hickman TN, Goodman SB, Gehlbach DL, Rock JA. Incidence of symptom recurrence after hysterectomy for endometriosis. Fertil Steril. 1995;64(5):898–902. Yap C, Furness S, Farquhar C. Pre and post operative medical therapy for endometriosis surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2004(3):CD003678. Magtibay PM, Nyholm JL, Hernandez JL, Podratz KC. Ovarian remnant syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005;193(6):2062–6. Chao HA. Ovarian remnant syndrome at the port site. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2008;15(4):505–7. Nezhat F, Nezhat C. Operative laparoscopy for the treatment of ovarian remnant syndrome. Fertil Steril. 1992;57(5):1003–7. Kho RM, Magrina JF, Magtibay PM. Pathologic findings and outcomes of a minimally invasive approach to ovarian remnant syndrome. Fertil Steril. 2007;87(5):1005–9. Ott J, Nouri K, Demmel M, Zafraani S, Greilberger U, Huber JC, et al. Fourteen-year experience with laparoscopic ventrosuspension in patients with retroverted and retroflected uterus and pelvic pain syndromes. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2010;17(6):749–53. Fauconnier A, Dubuisson JB, Foulot H, Deyrolles C, Sarrot F, Laveyssiere MN, et al. Mobile uterine retroversion is associated with dyspareunia and dysmenorrhea in an unselected population of women. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2006;127(2):252–6. Ostrzenski A. Laparoscopic retroperitoneal hysteropexy. A randomized trial. J Reprod Med. 1998;43(4):361–6. Weibel MA, Majno G. Peritoneal adhesions and their relation to abdominal surgery. A postmortem study. Am J Surg. 1973;126(3):345–53. Postoperative adhesion development after operative laparoscopy: evaluation at early second-look procedures. Operative Laparoscopy Study Group. Fertil Steril. 1991 Apr;55(4):700–4. Howard FM, El-Minawi AM, Sanchez RA. Conscious pain mapping by laparoscopy in women with chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol. 2000;96(6):934–9. Demco L. Pain mapping of adhesions. J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc. 2004;11(2):181–3. Peters AA, Trimbos-Kemper GC, Admiraal C, Trimbos JB, Hermans J. A randomized clinical trial on the benefit of adhesiolysis in patients with intraperitoneal adhesions and chronic pelvic pain. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1992;99(1):59–62. Swank DJ, Swank-Bordewijk SC, Hop WC, van Erp WF, Janssen IM, Bonjer HJ, et al. Laparoscopic adhesiolysis in patients with chronic abdominal pain: a blinded randomised controlled multi-centre trial. Lancet. 2003;361(9365):1247–51. Beard RW, Highman JH, Pearce S, Reginald PW. Diagnosis of pelvic varicosities in women with chronic pelvic pain. Lancet. 1984;2(8409):946–9. Belenky A, Bartal G, Atar E, Cohen M, Bachar GN. Ovarian varices in healthy female kidney donors: incidence, morbidity, and clinical outcome. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2002;179(3):625–7. Tu FF, Hahn D, Steege JF. Pelvic congestion syndrome-associated pelvic pain: a systematic review of diagnosis and management. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2010;65(5):332–40. Farquhar CM, Rogers V, Franks S, Pearce S, Wadsworth J, Beard RW. A randomized controlled trial of medroxyprogesterone acetate and psychotherapy for the treatment of pelvic congestion. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1989;96(10):1153–62. Kim HS, Malhotra AD, Rowe PC, Lee JM, Venbrux AC. Embolotherapy for pelvic congestion syndrome: long-term results. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2006;17(2 Pt 1):289–97. Beard RW, Kennedy RG, Gangar KF, Stones RW, Rogers V, Reginald PW, et al. Bilateral oophorectomy and hysterectomy in the treatment of intractable pelvic pain associated with pelvic congestion. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1991;98(10):988–92. Chung MH, Huh CY. Comparison of treatments for pelvic congestion syndrome. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2003;201(3):131–8. Gargiulo T, Mais V, Brokaj L, Cossu E, Melis GB. Bilateral laparoscopic transperitoneal ligation of ovarian veins for treatment of pelvic congestion syndrome. J Am Assoc Gynecol Laparosc. 2003;10(4):501–4. Rundqvist E, Sandholm LE, Larsson G. Treatment of pelvic varicosities causing lower abdominal pain with extraperitoneal resection of the left ovarian vein. Ann Chir Gynaecol. 1984;73(6):339–41. Slocumb JC. Neurological factors in chronic pelvic pain: trigger points and the abdominal pelvic pain syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1984;149(5):536–43. Weiss JM. Pelvic floor myofascial trigger points: manual therapy for interstitial cystitis and the urgency-frequency syndrome. J Urol. 2001;166(6):2226–31. Graboski CL, Gray DS, Burnham RS. Botulinum toxin A versus bupivacaine trigger point injections for the treatment of myofascial pain syndrome: a randomised double blind crossover study. Pain. 2005;118(1–2):170–5. Affaitati G, Fabrizio A, Savini A, Lerza R, Tafuri E, Costantini R, et al. A randomized, controlled study comparing a lidocaine patch, a placebo patch, and anesthetic injection for treatment of trigger points in patients with myofascial pain syndrome: evaluation of pain and somatic pain thresholds. Clin Ther. 2009;31(4):705–20. Cummings TM, White AR. Needling therapies in the management of myofascial trigger point pain: a systematic review. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2001;82(7):986–92. Disclosures Dr. J. Shin: none. Dr. Fred M. Howard has served as a consultant for Ethicon Women’s Health and Urology. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article Shin, J., Howard, F.M. Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain. Curr Pain Headache Rep 15, 377–385 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-011-0204-4 Published: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-011-0204-4

Keywords

- Chronic pelvic pain - Management - Irritable bowel syndrome - Gastrointestinal dysfunction - Diet - Interstitial cystitis - Endometriosis - Ovarian remnant syndrome - Uterine retroversion - Adhesive disease - Pelvic congestion syndrome - Myofascial pain syndrome - Pelvic floor tension myalgia - Neurectomy - Hysterectomy - Trigger points - Pelvic floor tension myalgia

Text is read by the "Ask this paper" AI Q&A widget below. Extraction quality varies by source — PMC NXML preserves structure cleanly, OA-HTML may include some navigation residue, and OA-PDF can have broken hyphenation. The publisher copy (via DOI) is the canonical version.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Ask this paper AI returns verbatim quotes from the full text · source: oa-doi-fallback

Answers must be backed by verbatim quotes from this paper's full text. Hallucinated quotes are dropped automatically; if no verbatim passage answers the question, we say so. How this works

Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_pain

MeSH descriptors

Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Pelvic Pain Pelvic Pain Abdominal Wall Animals Chronic Disease Chronic Pain Chronic Pain Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Interstitial Cystitis, Interstitial Disease Management Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (68)

Cited by (25)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-07-28T06:14:09.330459+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-05-13T22:17:00.782903+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK