Working With Your Provider

While pelvic pain is difficult to diagnose, there are health care providers who understand and know how to treat it. Find a health care provider who respects and believes in you and your pain. Ideally, the health care provider should have special training and experience in chronic pelvic pain management and gynecology for women or urology for men. Such providers can sometimes be hard to find. Many health care providers call themselves pain specialists but may not be as well-trained or experienced in treating chronic pain conditions.

Your choice of health care provider or team should be able to help you develop an organized pain care plan. It should focus on treating all aspects of your pain, including your body, mind and spirit. This plan may include:

• Medication by mouth to help relieve your pain
• Local anesthetic nerve blocks to decrease the pain signal where it begins
• Physical therapy to relax and strengthen adjoining muscles, ligaments and tendons
• Psychotherapy to help you cope with the mental anguish that comes with pain
• Personal empowerment or development of inner strength

Places and Professionals That Can Help Manage Pelvic Pain

• Pain medicine specialists – Pain medicine has become a medical specialty in recent years. Pain medicine doctors specialize in treating many different pain conditions. Depending on background and interest, many treat pelvic pain; however, ask about their experience and interest in treating pelvic pain and whether they use a variety of therapeutic (multi-modality) approaches.

• Comprehensive pain centers – Such centers provide multi-modal, interdisciplinary treatment, but may not have pelvic programs or specialists. Be sure to check first.

Health Care Professionals

The health care providers that you need may depend on your diagnosis, signs and symptoms. You may work with one or more of the following:

• Primary care provider
• Colorectal specialist
• Internist
• Neurologist
• Obstetrician/Gynecologist
• Pain specialist
• Pelvic Specialist
• Physical therapist
• Sex Counselor
• Surgeon
• Urologist

Remember that these health care providers have special skills, training and education in women's or men’s health care but may not specialize in treatment of chronic pain. Be sure to ask about their experience with treating chronic pelvic pain.