Biology of Pain and Pathophysiology of Pelvic Pain Syndrome

In: Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pelvic Surgery in the Elderly · 2017 · pp. 257–268 · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-6554-0_18 · W2620183146
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This chapter discusses the pathologic causes of chronic pelvic pain, particularly in women, and explores the neuroscience of pain processing and the importance of pleasure in chronic pain patients.

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This chapter examines the biology and neuroscience of pain as it relates to chronic pelvic pain in women, outlining proposed physical and central/peripheral mechanisms and the role of subjective experience, including the interplay between pain and pleasure. It synthesizes prior research rather than presenting original patient data, emphasizing how chronic pelvic pain can arise from multiple pathologic etiologies and how pain processing involves both peripheral input and central nervous system modulation. A major caveat is that it is a narrative review/chapter overview that does not provide new experimental results or a single unified mechanism. Relevance to endometriosis: the chapter is included in the corpus because it specifically cites depression in women with endometriosis with and without chronic pelvic pain and discusses chronic pelvic pain biology broadly, though the chapter’s main focus is general mechanisms of chronic pelvic pain rather than endometriosis alone.

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Abstract

Pain is a perplexing phenomenon. Treating a patient with chronic pain brings up many complicated questions, including: the difference between physical and emotional pain, the subjective nature of pain, and the interplay between pain and pleasure. In this chapter, we will discuss the pathologic etiologies that account for chronic pelvic pain, focusing primarily on pelvic pain in women. We will then cover the interesting and complex neuroscience and biology of pain, including central and peripheral nervous system processing of painful stimuli. Finally, we will discuss the importance of the experience of pleasure for patients who suffer from chronic pain. Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only Similar content being viewed by others

References

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Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Editor information Editors and Affiliations Rights and permissions Copyright information © 2017 Springer Science+Business Media New York About this chapter Cite this chapter Lakshmin, P., Gordon, D.A. (2017). Biology of Pain and Pathophysiology of Pelvic Pain Syndrome. In: Gordon, D., Katlic, M. (eds) Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Pelvic Surgery in the Elderly. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6554-0_18 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6554-0_18 Published: Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6552-6 Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6554-0 eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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