ABSTRACT

I. INTRODUCTION Evaluating pelvic pain can be challenging for both the patient and the health care provider. The general term pelvic injury has a wide variety of meanings. First, the interaction between patient and provider is very dependent on the patient’s ability to report the history. A thorough history reveals if there may be a visceral, neurogenic, mechanical, or hormonal component contributing to pain. Second, the interaction is dependent on the health care provider’s ability to interpret the information. This is often dependent on the professional’s specialty background. In addition to primary care physicians, several medical specialists, including obstetricians/gynecologists, orthopedic surgeons, urologists, physiatrists, and colorectal surgeons, evaluate and treat women with pelvic pain. If the problem lies outside the parameters of the specialty and additional referrals are not made, appropriate evaluation and treatment may not be completed. This chapter focuses on the musculoskeletal perspective of the evaluation of pelvic pain.