Navigating Pelvic Pain: You are not alone, and help is available

There are literally millions of women in Australia with Pelvic Pain. 

The Pelvic Pain in Australian Women 2023 report revealed that 47% of Australian women had experienced pelvic pain in the last 5 years. 

Even more worrying is that half of these women did not seek help, as they assumed nothing could be done! But this is simply not true. 

There are many types and causes of pelvic pain including:

• Pelvic Floor Muscle Dysfunction
• Pain due to endometriosis and Adenomyosis, 
• Vulvadynia (pain at the vulva) 
• Bladder Pain syndrome
• Dyspareunia (painful sex)
• Pudendal nerve injury
• Levator Ani Syndrome (causing pain at the anus)
• Sacroiliac joint pain…and many others

Pelvic Pain can be felt in the lower belly, internally, or in the low back, pubic bone area and legs. It could occur in a precise location, or it could be more diffuse, even radiating to other areas of the body.

You could experience pain with intimacy, when emptying your bladder or bowel, with physical activities, at different times of your menstrual cycle, in response to certain foods, or at any time at all.

What Can You Do?

Just like persistent pain in any part of your body, pelvic pain should be properly assessed by your health care practitioner to find the cause and rule out the possibility of more serious illness.

Following that, while the treatment of the many causes of pelvic pain requires individualised treatment, they also have some things in common.

Most types of pelvic pain include issues with:

1. Muscles: Pelvic floor, abdominal and hip muscle tightness can cause pelvic pain, or develop as a secondary side effect of other types of pain…which then adds to the problem!
2. Nerve irritation: Nerves in your lower back and pelvis can be directly injured or compressed. They may also become irritated and overly sensitive secondary to an irritated bladder or bowel, or pelvic floor muscle tightness.
3. Interactions with the pelvic organs: The bladder, bowel or uterus can each develop problems which cause pain. Then, because these organs sit closely together in such a small space in your pelvis, they can affect each other, either with direct pressure, or increased sensitivity due to shared nerve supplies. For example, chronic constipation, with a full bowel, can add to the irritation of an overactive bladder.
4. Inflammation: Inflammation often plays a part in pelvic pain, either due to a particular pelvic organ or tissue being inflamed, or because of generalised whole body inflammation. Both have an effect.
5. Sensitisation of pathways in the brain: Any condition that lasts more than a few months has an effect on your central nervous system, that’s your brain and spinal cord. This means that sensation that shouldn’t be painful, such as light touch or pressure, can become painful because of extra pain activity within the brain.
6. A word about chronic pain: Our understanding of pain has come a long way in the last decade. It is now known that pain is not just caused by tissue damage or disease. Pain is influenced by many factors including exercise, diet, sleep, emotions, stress levels, social support or lack of it, work environment and much more. 

As you can see, pelvic pain can be a complex puzzle!

The upside of this is that there are many ways to work on pain, and lots of simple strategies you can implement that can add up to a big reduction in pain. 

Here are some of our favourite tips for pelvic pain:

#1 Gentle hip stretches. Gentle stretches like squatting, Piriformis stretch, Happy Baby stretch and Child’s Pose, can help release tension in and around the pelvis, reducing pain and pressure. See our article on this for more information about how to do these stretches.

#2 Regular exercise. Whole body movement helps increase circulation and flexibility, and decrease congestion in the pelvis. Even a gentle walk is beneficial.

#3 Reduce inflammation: following a low inflammatory diet can help reduce pain. Speak to your dietician about simple dietary changes that can make a big difference. You can also ask our pelvic health physiotherapists about our quality Metagenics anti-inflammatory supplements.

#4 Take good care of your bladder and bowel: Drinking enough water, 1.5-2L/ day minimum, and avoiding bladder irritants such as coffee, sugar, alcohol and spicy foods, can help settle urgency and overactive bladder. Also include plenty of fibre in your diet to keep your bowel movements regular.

#5 Self-care and lifestyle: Especially in the case of chronic pain, paying attention to self care, enjoying healthy relationships, taking some downtime, addressing your stress levels, sleep quality, and environmental stressors will go a long way to helping you manage pain. See our article on Chronic Pain Management for more information about this.

#6 See a Pelvic Health Physiotherapist: Our Pelvic Health Physiotherapists are highly trained in treating pelvic pain disorders. We can make a full assessment of your particular situation, guide you through all of the above measures as they apply to you and treat your pelvic floor and other muscles and nerves that may be contributing to your pain. We also provide an in depth self management plan with plenty of tools and techniques to help manage and reduce your pain.

There are solutions available to you. Book an appointment today to take the first step to reducing your  Pelvic Pain.

(Published Sep 10, 2025)

Written by: Martina Duel (Senior Physiotherapist)