Persistent Vulvar Pain? You May Have

Vulvodynia

Occurring at any age, as many as one in six women in the United States may experience the symptoms of vulvodynia at some point in their lives. There are several different factors which can cause vulva pain, and the pain itself can range in sensation, severity, and frequency.

Understanding Vulvar Pain

What is Vulvodynia?

Vulvodynia is pain in the vulva area and is considered chronic when it lasts for six months or more. Vulvar pain, and the pain itself, can range in sensation, severity, and frequency. Pain may be constant or emerge during specific activities, such as prolonged sitting and sexual intercourse.

Symptoms of Vulvodynia

While the severity of chronic pelvic pain symptoms range, symptoms are usually related to gynecologic, urologic, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal conditions and exhibit a wide range of symptoms in both women and men.

Vulvar Pain Is Not In Your Head

What Causes Vulvodynia?

Vulvodynia can occur at any age, but it is most common among young women between the ages of 18 and 25. Activities such as sexual intercourse or just sitting for a long period of time may cause vulva pain flare-ups. Vulvar pain can be caused by one or a combination of several different factors.

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    Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction

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    pelvic nerve inflammation, irritation or injury

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    Underlying Gynecological Conditions

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    Hormonal imbalance

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    Allergic reactions

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    Recurring vaginal infections

Vulvodynia

Risk Factors

While chronic pelvic pain affects many people and is caused by different conditions, some people may have an increased risk of experiencing chronic pelvic pain due to lifestyle and other factors. If you suspect you have CPPS, and any of these risk factors apply to you, it’s important to talk with your healthcare provider about both.

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    Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction

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    Having certain allergies

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    Autoimmune disorders such as Lichen Sclerosis

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    Recurrent vaginal infections

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    Exposure to Birth Control

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    Stress, anxiety, depression, or emotional trauma

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    Pelvic pain disorders such as painful bladder syndrome (IC) or Endometriosis

Is Your Vulva Pain Vulvodynia?

Diagnosing Vulvodynia

Diagnosing vulvodynia and the underlying issues that are causing it requires an in-depth examination of both the nerves and muscles within the pelvis, learning of your medical history, and getting a full picture of your symptoms and lifestyle. The experience of pain from vulvodynia can vary from person to person and this disorder may stem from a number of different root causes, but it can often be treated to allow patients to have a better quality of life with less pain and dysfunction.

Here’s what you can expect when you are a patient at Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine:

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    Step One – First, our providers will ask questions about your medical history and listen to your symptoms to get a full picture of what is going on with you.

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    Step Two – Next, an external exam of your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum.

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    Step Three – Next, your pelvic nerves are evaluated externally with a soft cotton tip.

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    Step Four – Next, with your consent, gel is placed on a gloved finger and an internal exam is performed to allow us to evaluate the nerves and muscles within the pelvis. There is no speculum required as we are evaluating the pelvic floor muscles and nerves not the organs.

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    Step Five – Sometimes patients will need Imaging to help us understand if there is an associated cause of the pelvic nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction found on exam.

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    Step Six – Oftentimes, treatment can be started the same day as there is no down time. Our patients have been suffering with pelvic pain symptoms for 6+ months. We like to get them on the road to feeling better as soon as we can as the longer the symptoms are present the harder it is for us to resolve them.

Treatment Options for Vulvodynia

Once a proper diagnosis has been given, we offer a proprietary office-based procedure to treat the symptoms of vulvodynia. This treatment consists of a series of pelvic nerve and muscle treatments to directly target spastic pelvic floor muscles, and inflammation around the pelvic nerves that innervate the vulva cuasing pain. Depending on the symptoms causing your vulvodynia, other modalities may be needed in addition to our treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Experiencing vulvodynia can be painful and discouraging, but our team of pelvic pain specialists will listen to you, validate your experiences and symptoms, and partner with you on your rehabilitation journey.

Because vulvodynia can arise from many factors, there is no way to ensure its prevention. However, it’s important to be aware of symptoms when they do occur and discuss them with a pelvic pain specialist. We understand that vulva pain is a sensitive subject that is not always easy to talk about, but it can often be treated.

We understand that those experiencing pain relating to vulvodynia can be severely impacted in their everyday lives. It can impact your ability to sleep, do your job, and participate in activities that you enjoy. Unaddressed vulvodynia can also cause pain during intercourse which may cause anxiety and sometimes place strain on relationships. Depending on its cause, vulva pain may grow worse over time if it is not treated.

Vulvodynia may be related to other pelvic pain conditions such as interstitial cystitis (IC), also known as painful bladder syndrome.

We recommend scheduling an appointment with one of our pelvic pain specialists if you have been experiencing the symptoms of vulvodynia for 6 months or longer.

You’ll meet with one of our pelvic pain specialists, who focus solely on pelvic pain. We’ll start with reviewing your full health history, including a discussion of your symptoms. This will help us to understand what you’ve been experiencing, so we can work to identify the source of your pain.

Next, we’ll conduct a full pelvic exam. Externally, we will look at your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum. Internally, we will evaluate the nerves and the muscles within the pelvic area. This full exam is necessary , as it will help our pelvic pain specialists understand the connection between your symptoms, and your nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction. There is no speculum, so the exam is gentle and more comfortable than that of, for example, gynecological exams you may have experienced in the past.

We will discuss our findings with you and come up with a comprehensive treatment plan TOGETHER. We want you to know that your pain is validated and that we are here to work with you on getting you back to the life you deserve.

Experience Relief From Vulvodynia.