Why Do I Have Pressure In My Pelvic Area, But Am Not Pregnant?
Understanding reasons you might be feeling pressure down there.
There are many concerns that women face that are often not openly discussed. From urinary leakage, to pain with sex, to things like pelvic pressure, many women suffer in silence. Unfortunately, symptoms like pelvic pressure can dramatically affect a woman’s quality of life, and how she chooses to stay active.
First, we have to define what is pressure in the pelvic area? What are some things that cause it, and why could it be there.
As our title suggests, we are talking about pressure in the pelvic area that in unrelated to pregnancy. During pregnancy, there is stretching that occurs to our joints, ligaments, and muscles. As a result, this can cause pressure in the pelvic area. But what if you aren’t pregnant? What are some reasons that this might be happening?
First, let’s talk pelvic organ prolapse. Prolapse is essentially where the organs that sit in our pelvic cavity begin to sit lower than they should. As a result, this creates pressure down onto our pelvic floor muscles which can give the sensation of heaviness, pressure, fullness, or even the feeling like something is in the vagina (often times we hear “it feels like I have a tampon stuck in there”).
Another reason that you might feel pressure in the pelvic area is due to a group of conditions called pelvic venous disorders. During pelvic venous disorders, the veins that sit around the abdomen and pelvic area begin to swell and balloon out (similar to what happens with varicose veins in our legs). In turn, this swelling puts pressure on our pelvic organs which can give rise to the pressure feeling that is often felt vaginally or rectally.
Some other causes of pelvic pressure include the presence of conditions such as interstitial cystitis, endometriosis, or adenomyosis. In each of these conditions, there is inflammation that occurs which can put pressure on your pelvic organs including your bladder, bowel, and uterus. These conditions often accompany other symptoms such as painful urination, urinary urgency, painful menstruation, and constipation. Most patients with these conditions report the fullness is more in their lower belly or very lower in their abdomen vs feeling the pressure in between their legs.
Space occupying reasons that you might feel pressure in your pelvic area include things like fibroids, or constipation. When someone has a uterine fibroid, the uterus becomes very heavy, and in constipation, the bowel becomes very heavy. IN both of these conditions, there is more force that is placed down on the pelvic floor muscles, giving rise to the pressure sensation.
Lastly, pelvic floor dysfunction and weakness in the pelvic floor can give rise to pelvic pressure. When the pelvic floor muscles are weak, they can sag a little. This sagging can also give rise to pelvic pressure, especially pressure that is felt vaginally or rectally.
In order to determine what exactly is causing the pressure in your pelvic area, a thorough assessment by a trained medical provider or pelvic floor PT is a great place to start. By taking your history, presence of other symptoms, and with a physical exam, you’ll be able to figure out exactly what is causing your pelvic pressure.
Regarding treatment, and the things you can do to relieve the pressure in the pelvic area, there is a variety of things that can help, however knowing exactly what is causing the pressure you are experiencing is paramount. We can’t treat the symptoms, if we don’t know what’s causing it in the first place.
Many of these conditions can be managed conservatively with pelvic floor PT. During pelvic floor PT, a specialty trained physical therapist will be able to use a variety of hands on manual treatment, exercises, and postural and lifestyle modifications to help you manage your symptoms.
You should know that pressure in the pelvic area should be addressed by a professional. It isn’t something that you should live with and may get worse with time if you let it go.
Pelvic Floor PT in Bucks County, PA.
Vivid Women’s Health is a women’s health physical therapy practice located in Newtown, PA and Doylestown, PA. We provide unmatched pelvic floor physical therapy to help women resolve pelvic floor symptoms.
If you are local to the Newtown, PA or Doylestown, PA, Bucks County area, please click here to find out more about our in person services. If you are visiting our site from afar, we offer virtual services to help you overcome your pelvic health concerns. For virtual services, please click here.
We proudly put our patients first by offering one-on-one appointments for a full hour. You will have time to be heard and we will take time to listen to your whole story. You won’t be passed between different professionals and we will work to get you a holistic solution to your pelvic health concerns. We choose to participate in a private pay model so that we can focus on putting patients first.
