Chronic pelvic pain is ongoing pain in the lower abdomen or pelvic. It is very common, affecting about 1 in 6 women. The cause of pain can be very difficult to diagnose and sometimes no cause can be found. It may be the result of a disorder of the female pelvic organs such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, adhesions, ovarian cysts or retained ovarian syndrome. But it may be the result of a disorder in other systems such as the gastrointestinal tract, musculoskeletal system or nervous system.

Painful periods, also known as dysmenorrhea is pain at the time of menstruation. It can occur in up to 1 in 2 menstruating women and in some women can significantly affect their quality of life, disrupting school or work. If it started around the time of your first menstrual period it is known as primary dysmenorrhea and is usually the result of normal hormone production and not usually related to a specific problem with the pelvic organs. If it develops later in women who have previously had normal periods, it is known as secondary dysmenorrhea. This may be caused by a specific condition of the female pelvic organs but in some cases a cause may not be found.

Endometrioisis is a common condition where tissue, similar to the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus (the endometrium) also grows outside the uterus. These growths most often occur in the pelvis and lower abdomen, such as ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, uterosacral ligaments, pouch of douglas, surface of the rectum, bladder or vagina. Rarely, patches can occur elsewhere in the body such as the umbilicus (belly button), in a caesaren section scar, even the lung or nasal passage. The problem with endometriosis is that it can cause pain and difficulty falling pregnant. You may experience deep pain, often worse during sex or in a cyclical fashion but some women with severe disease have no pain at all.