Pelvic Pain

Dave Clarke, MD

“Chronic pelvic pain, lasting more than six months, affects one in six women and one in ten men.

The pain can vary widely in severity and may be influenced by factors such as the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, sexual activity, bowel movements, urination, body movement, or other pain or illness in the body.

While certain diseases and structural abnormalities can cause this condition in some cases, in many instances, these abnormalities are not responsible for the pain. This may explain why laparoscopic surgery provides complete pain relief for fewer than half of female patients.

If medical evaluations do not identify any disease or injury, or if treatments fail to provide expected improvement, it is likely that the brain plays a role in generating or contributing to the pain.”

  • Why would the brain do this? Nearly always, one or more types of stress is involved even if this is not fully recognized at first.

    Press the arrows!

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

    Experiences that would make you sad or angry if they happened to a child for whom you care.

  • Stressful Personality Traits

    Such as focusing too much on the needs of others, excessive self-criticism, perfectionism, lack of assertiveness, and many others.

  • Unrecognized Negative Emotions

    Such as anger, fear, shame, grief, or guilt.

  • Triggers

    Including people, situations, or events that remind you of stressful situations.

  • Current Life Stresses

    Such as work, parenting, pressure from loved ones, or major life changes.

  • Mental Health Challenges

    Such as depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that all these sources of stress can be successfully diagnosed and treated.

To explore whether this applies to you, take the self-diagnostic quiz below. It consists of 12 simple 'Yes or No' questions. The more 'Yes' answers you provide, the more likely it is that the resources on this website can help.