Understanding Pelvic Pain and Your Treatment Options
Living with pelvic pain can be exhausting, emotionally draining, and deeply frustrating, especially when you aren’t getting any answers or feeling like your concerns are being dismissed. Here at botanical abundance, we take pelvic pain seriously, and can help investigate why and implement changes that may reduce future pain.
What is Pelvic Pain?
Statistics show that 1 in 5 people who are AFAB (assigned female at birth) will experience pelvic pain at some point in their lives. So despite feeling alone, this experience is more common than you might think.
Pelvic pain can show up in many different ways, and no two experiences are the same. It may feel like:
A dull, aching, or heavy sensation in the lower abdomen or pelvis
Sharp, stabbing, burning, or electric-like pains in the pelvic area
Pain that radiates into the lower back, hips, groin, inner thighs, or tailbone
A feeling of pressure, fullness, or “something not quite right” in the pelvic area
Pain may be felt anywhere within the pelvic region, including the uterus, ovaries, bladder, bowels, or during penetrative intimacy (commonly referred to as dyspareunia). For some, the pain is cyclical and connected to hormonal fluctuations, for others, it may worsen with stress, anxiety, or fatigue. The pain may be constant or unpredictable.
What Causes Pelvic Pain?
Pelvic pain rarely has a single, simple cause. Instead, it often involves a combination of physical, neurological, hormonal, and emotional factors. Some potential contributors include:
Menstrual pain
Endometriosis
Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD)
Past or ongoing trauma
During or after contraceptive use
Pudendal neuralgia
Muscular tension or a hypertonic (overactive) pelvic floor
Vulval or vaginal imbalances that contribute to muscular guarding
Pregnancy and post-pregnancy changes
At Botanical Abundance, we frequently see people who experience pelvic pain, muscular tension, or painful intimacy as a result of recurrent vaginal infections. When the vaginal environment is repeatedly disrupted, the pelvic floor muscles can subconsciously tighten as a protective response, leaving long-term consequences often long after the original infection has resolved.
Through an in-depth investigation, we can help you understand whether your pelvic pain is coming from hormonal, structural or other causes, and together, we can look at ways to bring your body back into balance, pain-free.
A Whole-Body, Individualised Approach
When it comes to pelvic pain or painful intercourse, an individualised approach can help to resolve your symptoms. Through a naturopathic consult, we aim to understand when the pelvic pain occurs, how it feels, what influences it, and how it impacts your daily life.
Where appropriate, we may explore natural, evidence-based treatment options and investigate potential underlying contributors. Pelvic pain is complex and that complexity deserves thoughtful, individualised care with expert guidance.
This approach may include:
Vaginal microbiome testing
Referrals to trusted pelvic health physiotherapists
Collaboration with specialists or ultrasound clinics to rule out secondary causes
These types of investigations can also help to diagnose vaginismus or vulvodynia.
Although they are distinct conditions, vaginismus, vulvodynia, pelvic pain and painful intercourse can overlap. They are all influenced by an interaction between the muscles, nerves, tissues, and nervous system. Click each name to read more about these conditions.
You Don’t Have to Suffer in Silence
Here at botanical abundance, we take pelvic pain seriously, and can help investigate why and implement changes that may reduce future pain.
Naturopathic consultations with Jessie are available, click the button below to book an initial consultation if you are ready to start your PMDD support.