Musculoskeletal ills can masquerade as pelvic pain. (Physical Therapy Most Effective Tx).

MIAMI BEACH -- Patients with an underlying musculoskeletal cause for their pelvic pain may present with dysmenorrhea as their primary complaint, Dr. Paige Hertweck said at the annual meeting of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

"Because of relaxin production during the menstrual cycle, musculoskeletal pain can be exacerbated during a woman's period," Dr. Hertweck of the University of Louisville (Ky.) said in an interview.

Physical therapy is the most effective treatment for patients with musculoskeletal pain, but making the diagnosis can sometimes be challenging. "Many physicians don't examine patients for musculoskeletal causes of pelvic pain because this is not something that they have been taught to do," Dr. Hertweck said.

There are two types of musculoskeletal pain: trigger-point pain and myofascial pain. Trigger points are hyperirritable areas that are locally tender on compression and can cause referred pain and tenderness. Myofascial pain is caused by taut, cramped bands of skeletal muscle. In addition to dysmenorrhea, both conditions can cause referred, often visceral pain as well as gastrointestinal ...