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Article: The challenges of chronic pelvic pain: caring for women with chronic pelvic pain, who also have complex behavioural presentations, can be very challenging. A psychologist offers some practical advice for nurses.(PRACTICE)
- Article from:
- Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand
- Article date:
- July 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 New Zealand Nurses' Organisation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Approximately 25 percent of women in New Zealand suffer from chronic pelvic pain, similar to the the rate in the United Kingdom of 24 percent. (1) Chronic pelvic pain in women is defined as pain in the pelvic region that has persisted for at least six months and is considered gynaecological in origin. Forms of chronic pelvic pain include endometriosis, pelvic congestion syndrome, surgery-related tissue adhesions and scarring, chronic pelvic pain without clear pathology, and neuropathic pain. Common verbal descriptors of pelvic pain are that it drags, stabs, radiates down the legs, and can come in waves with such intensity, that it is likened to labour contractions during ...