How We Determine the Cause of Your Chronic Pelvic Pain
Chronic pelvic pain can come from muscles, nerves, joints, prior surgery, inflammation, pelvic floor dysfunction, abdominal or pelvic conditions, or pain referred from the lower back, hips, or sacroiliac joints. Pain may be felt in the lower abdomen, pelvis, groin, hips, buttocks, or low back and may affect sitting, walking, intimacy, urination, bowel movements, or daily activity. At Medway Pain Center, evaluation begins with a careful history, physical examination, review of imaging or prior workup when available, and attention to the pattern and location of your pain.
The goal is to determine whether your pain is primarily muscular, nerve-related, joint-related, spine-related, or coming from more than one source.
Choosing the Right Treatment for Your Chronic Pelvic Pain
Treatment depends on whether pain is coming from pelvic muscles, irritated nerves, nearby joints, the lower spine, or a combination of contributors. Some patients improve with conservative care, while others may benefit from targeted image-guided procedures.
- Nerve blocks may help diagnose or reduce pain when a specific pelvic, groin, or lower abdominal nerve pathway is suspected.
- Trigger point injections may be used when tight or painful pelvic, hip, low back, or abdominal wall muscles contribute to symptoms.
- Joint injections may be considered when hip, sacroiliac, or nearby joint inflammation appears to contribute to pelvic-area pain.
- Radiofrequency ablation may be considered in selected cases after diagnostic testing supports the target.
Why One Procedure May Be Better Than Another
Different procedures address different pain sources. Nerve blocks focus on suspected nerve pathways, trigger point injections address painful muscle contributors, and joint injections target inflammation in nearby joints that may refer pain into the pelvis. Radiofrequency ablation is considered only after diagnostic testing supports the target.
Choosing carefully helps avoid unnecessary procedures and improves the chance that treatment matches your actual diagnosis.
Your Treatment Journey at Medway Pain Center
Your care usually begins with an evaluation, diagnosis, and review of prior treatments or imaging. From there, Dr. Tochi Umunakwe and the Medway Pain Center team explain your options, discuss conservative and interventional choices, and build a plan based on your symptoms, exam findings, and goals.
The focus is to reduce pain, improve function, and help you return to daily activities with a plan that makes clinical sense for your condition.
