Experts dispel myths about pelvic pain

As part of an awareness session on ‘Pelvic Pain – Myths and Reality’ experts in their respective fields spoke at a panel discussion hosted by Apollo Life in Jubilee Hills on Monday.

This included Dr Rooma Sinha (Gynaecologist), Dr KJ Reddy (Orthopaedic), Dr Ravi Andrews (Nephrologist) and Dinaz Vervatwala (Fitness Expert) who elaborated on pelvic pain from their respective disciplines perspective and addressed queries of the audience present and a few from the 10,000 viewers over webcast.

Dr Sinha said, “Chronic pelvic pain is a common problem in women that is felt either in lower abdomen or in the back, which could be associated with cyclical periods or can be present all through the month. There are a wide variety of conditions that could lead to pelvic pain.

If the pain is mild it could be treated with medication, but if it is persistent, lasts for six months or more, or fails to respond to treatment, often difficult to treat, it can be considered as chronic and may need further treatment including surgery through minimally invasive Laparoscopic or Robotic techniques and in rare complicated cases through Hysterectomy.”

Dr Reddy highlighted common causes of low back pain and said, “Poor posture, obesity, spondylosis, disc prolapse, osteoporosis and rarely cancer are some of the causes.”

“Simple measures like sitting properly on a chair, regular exercises like walking, swimming, cycling, taking simple precautions while lifting weights and carrying heavy things will prevent this problem. Also, during pregnancy if one exercises regularly, most back pains will be prevented. Hence, the best medicine to prevent and treat low back pain is regular exercises,” he added.

Dr Andrews said, “Pelvic pain is quite common in women. Renal causes of pelvic pain include urinary tract infection (UTI), stones, cancers, prolapse of the bladder and past surgical scars. Of these, UTI is the commonest.”

According to Vervatwala, “The musculoskeletal causes of pelvic pain could be weak core muscles or tight hamstring muscles. A good analysis by a physical therapist will help in diagnosing the problem and giving an accurate exercise prescription.

Excess body weight could also be a reason for pelvic pain so therefore, a balanced diet will help in keeping weight under control.”

The President of Apollo Life, Ariz Rizvi, moderating the session said, “Women are the primary caregivers and it is unfair to load them with the responsibility of taking care of everyone and themselves too.”