Each day, you wonder whether your pelvic pain is going to stay in the background or come charging forward to disrupt your daily routine. And you’re tired of living with the ongoing discomfort and constant threat.
Millions of women in the United States are in the same boat — endometriosis affects about 11% of women ages 15-44. Of this number, more than 60% report chronic pelvic pain as a key symptom.
As our name suggests — Advanced Endometriosis Center — our team specializes in this common gynecologic condition. In fact, it’s fair to say that our lead physician, Dr. Ulas Bozdogan, has dedicated his career to helping women navigate the challenging waters of endometriosis and find much-needed relief from pelvic pain.
In this blog, we dive into the different ways endometriosis can lead to discomfort to help you figure out whether the condition might be responsible for your chronic pelvic pain.
The most direct link between endometriosis and pelvic pain is due to adhesions that form because of the disease. With endometriosis, cells and tissues that normally line the walls of your uterus grow outside the organ, often around the:
Less commonly, endometrial tissues can grow around other pelvic organs, such as your bladder, bowel, and vagina. Even rarer, endometrial tissues are found outside the pelvic cavity and up in the chest.
While they may be misplaced, these tissues still respond to hormonal fluctuations, except that they have nowhere to shed. Over time, these trapped tissues can form adhesions, or scar tissue, that can tug on other tissues and cause pain.
The pelvic pain that comes with endometrial adhesions can vary a good deal depending on which organs are affected. This pain also tends to flare during your periods as hormone levels change, but many of our patients report chronic pelvic pain between periods, as well.
The pain can also flare in certain circumstances. For example, pain during sex is common with endometriosis as intercourse can tug on adhesions in your pelvis. Additionally, if you have adhesions that affect your lower urinary tract, you may experience discomfort as your bladder fills.
Chronic pain of any kind can lead to neurogenic sensitization, which is heightened sensitivity to pain. So, as women travel through life with endometrial pain, this discomfort can get progressively worse as your hyperexcitable nervous system gets stuck in a vicious cycle of pain.
Over the past decade, a new branch of women’s health has been gaining traction — neuropelveology. This category is designed to acknowledge that the pelvis has a unique peripheral nervous system that can be triggered by any number of health conditions, and endometriosis is certainly in the mix.
At the core of neuropelveology is the idea that pain can be both localized and referred, thanks to the network of nerves in your pelvis. So, you might feel pain that extends down into your groin when you have endometriosis. Or, you may experience lower back pain.
The bottom line is that endometriosis can be incredibly uncomfortable to deal with, and we’re here to help relieve your pain.
How we go about treating your pelvic pain will depend on the extent of your endometriosis, but rest assured, your relief is our top priority.
For a comprehensive evaluation of your endometriosis and pelvic pain, we invite you to click here to schedule a consultation at one of our conveniently located offices in New York City or Paramus, New Jersey.
