Fibroids, Adenomyosis, and Chronic Pelvic Pain

David L. Olive
In: Chronic Pelvic Pain · 2011 · pp. 77–85 · doi:10.1002/9781444391855.ch8 · W1568013576
other OA: closed CC0
View on OpenAlex View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-05, 2026-05-18 ⓘ

This review examines whether uterine fibroids and adenomyosis can be confirmed as causes of chronic pelvic pain in reproductive-aged women, drawing on the existing clinical literature. The authors argue that adenomyosis remains poorly defined and poorly investigated, with no clear boundary between physiologic findings and pathology, and minimal scientific basis for treating it specifically when pelvic pain is present. Fibroids are described as common but unlikely to be a direct source of chronic pelvic pain, more often producing pressure symptoms or occasional dyspareunia, and the authors note that data on successfully treating chronic pelvic pain attributable to either condition are essentially nonexistent. This paper is centrally about adenomyosis — specifically its contested role as a cause of chronic pelvic pain alongside fibroids, and the weak evidence base for pain-directed treatment.

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

Abstract

Adenomyosis and fibroids are two uterine pathologies that have long been clinically associated with chronic pain in reproductive-aged women. However, data confirming a cause and effect relationship are sparse. Adenomyosis is a poorly defined and poorly investigated disorder. It is difficult to diagnose, and in most cases is not clearly pathologic; where the line is drawn between physiologic findings and a pathologic disorder is unknown. The scientific validity for specifically treating adenomyosis in the presence of pelvic pain is minimal. Uterine fibroids are common gynecologic findings but are unlikely to represent a source of chronic pelvic pain. Pressure symptoms and other repercussions from an enlarged uterus are more likely to be seen, and occasionally dyspareunia may be reported. Numerous treatments are available, but data regarding the successful treatment of chronic pelvic pain are nonexistent.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

adenomyosischronic_pelvic_paindyspareunia

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 (16)

Source provenance

openalex
last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK