Peer Reviewed
Women's health
Pudendal neuralgia: standing up to the problem
Recent articles on:
Pelvic pain
Pelvic pain
Recent articles on:
Women's health
Women's health
Abstract
The incidence of pudendal neuralgia appears to be increasing with the rise in desk jobs that cause women to sit for long periods of time. Physiotherapy and reducing time in the sitting position can help relieve the pain.
Key Points
Pudendal neuralgia is defined as the perception of pain within the distribution of the pudendal nerve, which in practical terms is equivalent to the so-called ‘saddle area’. Pudendal neuralgia is common, although population-based epidemiology studies are unfortunately lacking. The presence of an anatomical variant that predisposes people to pudendal nerve entrapment has been identified in three of 40 dissection specimens. So, theoretically at least, pudendal neuralgia should be present in a large subset of the general population. Fortunately, not everyone with the anatomical condition will develop a clinically significant syndrome.
Picture credit: © Wavebreakmedia/Deposit Photos. Model used for illustrative purposes only.
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