Pelvis Problems……you say Potato , I say …. Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome, Pudendal Neuralgia, Pelvic Dysfunction, Sacro Illiac Dysfunction.

The Pelvis is so misunderstood; we as a society have difficulty even finding a consensus on how to name problems with it. Here are a few names which really mean the same thing –

• Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome
• Pudendal Neuralgia
• Pelvic Dysfunction
• Sacro Illiac Dysfunction

When this confusion is combined with the difficulty some patients have talking about their very personal issues, we are left with poor communication between patients and medical practitioners and often lost and depressed patients.

Patients may see a range of doctors and specialists. In fact it is important that all medical explanations be investigated. Sometimes there is no convincing diagnosis. Sometimes a patient is correctly diagnosed and then sent to a physio/chiro/osteopath who does not treat the issue completely and the results are not good enough.

To treat this problem from a musculoskeletal view the practitioner must have an excellent understanding of the relationship between the thorax, lower back and the pelvis. If this relationship is not good the patient’s core loses the ability to stabilise, and two things can happen. One side of the Pelvis can rotate and irritate the Pudendal Nerve, which goes to the perineum, or the pelvic floor muscles try too hard to create core stability. If the pelvic floor muscles are overused they become tight, develop trigger points and cause pain and dysfunction.

These conditions, or should I say this condition, has symptoms which include:

• Pain, tingling, numbness, burning and / or sharp stabs anywhere from the anus to the head of penis or labia.
• The patient may have associated thigh, leg, buttock or back pain.
• The patient may have urinary problems
• Men may have pain with ejaculation, or delayed onset of pain post sex
• The patient may have increased symptoms with sitting

It may be a mixture of these examples

Two highly experienced senior physiotherapists are now combining their knowledge to overcome this problem. Stuart Baptist is a men’s pelvic floor physiotherapist at the forefront of his field. I am a thorax, lower back and sacro-illiac joint physiotherapist who helps both men and women with pelvic problems.

If you are suffering, chances are you can be helped. Contact the front desk, 9252 5770  for an initial consultation.