What makes pelvic pain unique?
Pelvic pain affects 1 in 5 women in their lifetime. That is a huge number of women and yet…why do we not hear about it very often? And what exactly is it that makes pelvic pain unique?
Isn’t spoken about freely
If you pull a muscle at the gym and have an aching back for a week or two you're more than likely going to mention that to someone at some point. Ah my back is aching today, mind if I sit down for a bit? However if you have that same level of pain in your pelvic region you’re far less likely to bring it up in conversation. This area feels intimate, private and taboo to discuss freely especially with the opposite sex. Women often have years of shame around their pelvic area from hiding that they are menstruating to body shame around weight or image. As a result pelvic pain is often hidden, internalised and dealt with by ourselves or in private with select health practitioners.
Pelvic region is closely tied with trauma
The pelvic region is often the place where strong emotions, stressors and trauma are stored. We have an inbuilt protective mechanism and instinct to “tense” when faced with a stress or threat. A study found that women with PTSD and a history of interpersonal trauma had significantly higher pelvic floor tension, especially those who had nightmares and hyper vigilance symptoms.
Additionally the anatomy of the pelvic floor means that the diaphragm and the muscles of the pelvic floor are connected. When in a trauma state or even highly stressful moments our breathing patterns change and we tend to breathe less slow deep breaths into the belly but rather short sharp breaths into the chest. This affects both blood flow to the area and muscular tension. This explains why when under stress the pelvic floor can become tense due to dysfunctional breathing patterns.
What do we make it mean?
When a woman has pelvic pain the stories that we attach to that pain can be far more significant than other areas of the body. For example if you begin to have pelvic pain you may notice fear thoughts arise such as:
“I will never be able to have sex again!”
“Will my partner leave me?”
“I feel like my body is failing me!”
“Will I be able to have children?”
“What does this mean for my femininity?”
The stories we create around our pelvis’ can amplify or lessen the pain experience itself. Feeling inadequate when unable to participate in sex or feeling extremely let down by your body can lead to other mental health concerns. In fact a study of 100 women with chronic pelvic pain found that 66% of them experienced anxiety and 63% experienced depression.
I want to emphasise that if you are feeling any of the above then you are NOT alone. Many women have recovered from pelvic pain and it is entirely possible to gain your life back. You do NOT need to just drink a glass of wine and stop stressing about it as I’ve heard so many women being told. There is so much more you can do to recover and turn down the volume on persistent pelvic pain. Reach out if you’d like support with your experience of persistent pelvic pain.
This article refers to the female experience however all pelvis owners regardless of gender identity are included and acknowledged in this space.
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7473031/
