Similar crampy, tight, shortened and painful pelvic muscles are very common in women who have:
* Pain with sex, tampons or cervical smear tests
* A painful ache in the pelvis for a day or so after intercourse
* A pain on the side which can come on suddenly at any time, just like a cramp
* Being unable to pass urine sometimes, even though you really want to
* A sharp pain up the bowel, or,
* Difficulty sitting for a long time, or pain on moving
* Feeling much better after a hot bath or wheatbag
If this is you, then you can check yourself by putting a finger inside the vagina and pushing on the muscles around the opening of the vagina and at the sides of the pelvis about half way up the vagina. If you feel your pain when you push on the muscles, then spasm in these muscles are probably the cause of that pain.
The best treatment is physio with a special pelvic physiotherapist who knows how to treat women with tight painful pelvic muscles. Treatment usually starts with learning relaxation techniques and then training the muscles to work normally. If your problem is severe and you need some extra help, then BOTOX might help. This relaxes the muscles for 3-4 months, which allows you to feel better quicker and work on the physiotherapy needed to stop the muscles becoming tight again. It does need to be injected under an anaesthetic and the pain doesn't improve for around 2 weeks after injection.
Pain from pelvic muscles is a commonly missed diagnosis. It doesn't show on scans or a laparoscopy, but is very very painful.
Dear Dr. Evans,
ReplyDeleteI could really use some help! I was doing more research online and came across your website and book. I have been seeing a pelvic specialist since February 2010. My pain started about 2 months after my 2nd C-Section over 3 years ago. My periods were beyond belief. They lasted over 2 weeks. I had to keep clothes with me at ALL times and changed constantly due to the heaviness. I always had bad periods but never this bad. I also suffered from mittleschmerz. I also developed uncontrollable IBS. My ob/gyn did an endometrial ablation first. It helped with the period but not the pain. She told me she thought it was adenomyosis. She removed my uterus by incision about 10 months later b/c I could not stand the pain much longer. I continued to have pain. I was referred around by several and had a new ob/gyn find cysts.They eventually ruptured and was told that I might have IC in my bladder. I went to a urologist. She did the test and said my bladder looked fine. More time went by and I found out about the Paul Perry Pelvic pain clinic. It took me 7 months to get in. They did an ultrasound and found many problems. They thought I had a large mass, lots of fluid, and several cysts. But once he got it, he found a lot of adhesions and my ovaries were attached and kind of tied up. He had to do a lot of work and said my insides were a mess but no endometriosis. He removed 1 ovary but left the other one in. Because I was in pain for so long, I also had extreme pelvic muscle problems & bersitis in my hips. I received injections in my pelvic floor muscles, bladder (IC was not ruled out) & back. I am still in pain from muscles now back to that extreme tenderness inside of me. It just hurts and its exhausting. My bladder is extremely tender but they have looked in it 2x and both times it showed no signs of IC. I do not get a lot of relief from these constant injections and installations. Could you offer any advice or help as to what else might be going on? A part of me feels they should have removed the other ovary. Granted I am only 27 but I have read that endometriosis can cause my insides to me a mess the way they were. However, they never found any. I just want this to go AWAY! Please help!
So far, studies have shown that small amounts of Botox are not harmful in the long term. Well, you can believe it or not. Perhaps the question is irrelevant anyway. To stop using Botox, a day in the future anyway. Why? Because they grow and at some point of Botox is not strong enough to more than remove all wrinkles. Then the last option is to have a facelift.
ReplyDeleteHI! This is SOOOOOOO me! I am confused: does this mean I will not get relief for the first 2 weeks after the botox procedure, but will then get relief for 3-4 months? I SOOOOOOO hope it helps as nothing else helps me! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteCathy
The main focus of chiropractic medicine and therapy is the relationship between the skeleton (with particular focus on the spine) to the nervous system which runs through it. Chiropractic care is intended not only for the spine but also for the care and rehabilitation of the whole body as well . Myofascial pain in Taiwan
ReplyDeleteI had the botox and even after three weeks the pain is still there. Is there any solution to this
ReplyDeleteno one seems to answer the problems. Iwould like to see answers to these issues.
ReplyDelete