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Chapter 5 - Musculoskeletal Assessment for Patients with Pelvic Pain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2021

Michael Hibner
Affiliation:
St Joseph’s Hospital & Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ
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Summary

Pelvic floor assessment is probably the most important part of the physical examination in patients with chronic pelvic pain and this exam is best performed by a skilled pelvic floor physical therapist. Physicians who see a large number of patients with pelvic pain should probably partner with a physical therapist and refer those patients for assessment. Some of the red flags on the history part of the assessment for pelvic floor dysfunction are urinary hesitancy (delayed onset of urine flow when trying to urinate) and pain after intercourse, or pain with physical activity (post exertion muscle soreness). Patients with pelvic floor muscle spasms also often have discomfort and pain with use of tampons, vaginal probe ultrasound, and pelvic exam. On pelvic exam when palpating with one finger muscles may feel tight and tender, often to the point where the examiner is not able to insert one finger. The obturator internus muscle is best palpated during the pelvic exam in the lithotomy position with the patient pushing with her knee against the examiner’s external hand.

Type
Chapter
Information
Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain
A Practical Manual
, pp. 33 - 49
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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