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Stretching and therapy helps relieve pelvic pain - Alicia Hinnergardt, Clinic Site Coordinator at HealthSouth, CentreDaily.com

Septmeber 26th, 2005 - Here's a letter I received recently from a suffered of chronic pelvic pain:

"Five years ago I started to have pain in my pelvic area. After seeing specialist after specialist and not finding anything, my stress got to a level that I couldn't imagine.

"At this point, the pain started to spread up the right side of my back. I didn't understand what was happening. It got to the point that I started to think irrationally -- I was thinking of taking my own life.

"I found relief through a book written by David Wise and Rodney Anderson. It is called 'A Headache in the Pelvis.' After reading this book and attending physical therapy, among other things, I found a way to handle the problem. Although my problem is ongoing, I have been able to find quality of life."
This person's experience with pelvic pain is not unusual. Millions of men and women experience pain in this region every year, often suffering in silence because of the private nature of the condition. It is often labeled prostatitis, vulvodynia or chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Often, the symptoms are easily diagnosed and treated, but some people experience pain that either doesn't react to conventional treatments or reacts initially only to flare up again later.

The medical community has begun to recognize the muscular component in these conditions. Most of us have experienced stress headaches or tightness in the neck and shoulders when under pressure. The muscle tension associated with these conditions is well known, but less well-accepted is the idea that stress can be internalized to affect the muscles of the pelvic floor.
An infection in the area, trauma or increased levels of stress can cause these muscles to become tight and painful.

Individuals who benefit from physical therapy for a pelvic pain condition often report the pain started with an initial infection but that pain remained after the infection was treated. The onset of pain often coincided with a major life change such as marriage, divorce or a new job.

Physical therapy for this affliction often includes stretching of the affected muscles, manual techniques to relieve muscle tension, relaxation techniques, exercises to trigger the release of endorphins and relieve stress.
Not all pelvic pain is muscular. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should be carefully examined by a physician. If other causes for the condition cannot be determined, a physical therapist specializing in the treatment of pelvic pain may be part of the solution.

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