Pain in the abdominal and/or pelvic area can have a wide range of impacts on an individual’s daily life depending on the cause. Impacts can vary from soreness/pain with movements such as getting up and down from a chair, turning over in bed, or difficulty exercising to bowel and or bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, urinary retention/frequency, constipation, and pain with intercourse, sitting, urination, and bowel movements.
Muscle strains of abdominal muscles and groin muscle may occur while being active with exercise or performing more strenuous activities of daily living. Risk factor for muscle strains include deconditioning/muscle weakness and or sudden increase in amount or intensity of exercise. Some other common causes of pelvic related pain may be pelvic floor muscle dysfunction such as weakness or high tonicity, abdominal surgeries (hysterectomy, C-section, prostatectomy), and infections. Common history includes pelvic surgeries (prolapse, bladder sling, mesh), trauma (falls, accidents), high levels of stress and anxiety, traumatic delivery (episiotomy, laceration), and sexual abuse.
Symptoms vary between painful conditions which include pain around tail bone, lower abdominal or other area abdominal pain, groin pain, low back pain, pelvic floor pain, and hip pain. Symptoms may also include bowel and/or bladder dysfunction (retention or frequency), and sexual dysfunction including pain with intercourse. Frequently the symptoms may be described as burning, aching, stabbing, and throbbing. It is important to consider that these symptoms can occur in both men and women.
A thorough evaluation is needed to determine the cause of the symptoms. In many situations an examination from a physical therapist can diagnose the contributing factors relating to the symptoms and proceed effectively with treatment. Often treatment may be coordinated with multiple providers to provide a comprehensive treatment approach depending on the cause of the symptoms. If you are unsure if your symptoms are appropriate for physical therapy please reach out to your physical therapist to discuss your symptoms.
Effective treatment requires a comprehensive evaluation of pelvis, lumbar spine, hips, and abdominal area. Hands on therapy may include joint and soft tissue mobilization accompanied by muscular re-training and or strengthening/muscular endurance training. Treatment may also include modalities such as: bio-feedback, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, or dry needling. These are effective techniques for normalizing muscle tone, improving muscle function, and reducing problematic symptoms.
Maintaining a generally active and healthy lifestyle will help prevent many potential causes of these conditions. If these symptoms do occur then treatment with your physical therapist will specifically help build a program to reduce or prevent symptoms in the future.