Chronic pelvic pain in children and adolescents

Susan L. Sager, Marc R. Laufer
In: Oxford Textbook of Pediatric Pain · 2021 · pp. 321–329 · doi:10.1093/med/9780198818762.003.0031 · W3176378980
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review discusses chronic pelvic pain in children and adolescents, highlighting overlooked causes like endometriosis and myofascial pain, and emphasizes the need for menstrual history, referral, and multidisciplinary management.

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Abstract

Abstract Pelvic pain is a broad term encompassing pain from viscera within the pelvic cavity, and from the bony and myofascial structures of the pelvis. In children and adolescents, pain due to pelvic pathology may be described as abdominal pain, and is frequently overlooked owing to co-occurrence with gastrointestinal symptoms. Dysmenorrhea is highly prevalent among adolescents and associated with central sensitization of pain pathways and other chronic pain syndromes. Dysmenorrhea is also a risk factor for pelvic pathology; two-thirds of adolescents with dysmenorrhea or chronic pelvic pain who undergo laparoscopy are diagnosed with endometriosis. Other overlooked causes of chronic pelvic pain include pelvic myofascial pain, pelvic floor dysfunction, neuralgias, and nerve entrapment. The importance of obtaining a menstrual history, indications for referral to an adolescent gynecologist, and a multidisciplinary approach to pain management are discussed.

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paindysmenorrhea

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (63)

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