Patient Experience > Quality of Life

There is increasing evidence indicating that pelvic pain has a significant impact on quality of life. There are a few published studies on quality of life for some of the more common pelvic pain conditions but many of the conditions are not well known and there is little information about them. Some of these conditions have a greater impact on physical function than others. Some may have a greater emotional impact than others. There is more emphasis on the impact of low back pain than there is on pelvic pain and yet the prevalence of these amongst people consulting a GP is similar. Pelvic pain is suspected to affect more women than men although the prevalence among men is unknown. Could this be a reason for the lack of attention to pelvic pain ? There is no information about the impact of pelvic pain and absence from work. Could this be another reason for the lack of attention to pelvic pain ? Pelvic pain in the general community may be higher than that of low back pain. (Zondervan BJOG 1999).

In 2006 an internet patient survey of chronic pelvic pain and quality of life was carried out amongst patients from several countries. The survey included men and women with some common and some less well known conditions although there are fewer pelvic conditions affecting men. The survey was compiled by patients with pelvic pain from three countries, in English and French, and input from pain specialists. The questions asked about access to services and sought patients' views on care as well as the impact of pain on physical and emotional wellbeing. Some of the questions in the survey were based on the Endometriosis Health Profile 30 (EHP 30) which was developed for assessing quality of life in endometriosis patients.

The results showed that female patients generally consult gynaecologists for pelvic pain but that patients in the USA were more likely to have consulted a neurologist and patients in France were more likely to have accessed care from an inter-disciplinary team.The survey indicated that an inter-disciplinary approach is helpful and that patients are increasingly willing to cross borders to access such expertise. The 2004 Pain in Europe survey also established that a high proportion of patients with chronic (long term) pain would go anywhere to gain help.