So you've got pelvic pain ... here's how to manage it.

Peter Dornan, AM




Pelvic pain is one of the most widespread yet least known and understood afflictions facing people today. For some sufferers, their pain still persists after specialist intervention by physicians, urologists, gynaecologists, gastroenterologists and pain management specialists. Such chronic pelvic pain in either men or women is often associated with negative cognitive, behavioural, sexual and emotional consequences as well as with symptoms suggestive of lower urinary tract, sexual, bowel, pelvic floor or gynaecological dysfunction. It is often characterised by sudden and unpredictable ‘flare-ups’, lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days or longer. Generally, the most consistent cause is seen as a complex interaction between the gastrointestinal, genito-urinary, musculoskeletal, neurologic and endocrine systems.

Over the last fifteen years, and after treating nearly 8,000 patients, physiotherapist Peter Dornan has found that many conditions that may have resisted traditional medical intervention such as:

• pain in the scrotum, labia, perineum or anorectal region, penis;

• dysuria (painful urination), voiding problems;

• urinary and faecal urge incontinence;

• pain during or after ejaculation;

• sexual and erectile dysfunction;

are often associated with pelvic girdle dysfunction involving the sacroiliac joint.

Written as an update to his earlier book, Pelvic Pain: A Musculoskeletal Approach to Treatment, this new text presents a wider perspective as it closely examines how the origins of many examples of persistent pelvic pain may stem from pelvic dysfunction involving the sacroiliac joint. This book outlines an anatomical explanation of the problem, how to conduct a musculoskeletal assessment, as well as methods and evidence-based treatment techniques for the dysfunction and management of symptoms. It includes helpful illustrations and photos to highlight the concepts and techniques that are covered.

So You’ve got Pelvic Pain…will prove useful to patients as well as health professionals who have an interest in pelvic pain, particularly musculoskeletal therapists.

About the Author

For more than 50 years, Peter Dornan has been a physiotherapist in the fields of sports medicine and manipulative therapy. He has worked with many international sporting teams, including the Australian national rugby union team, the Australian national rugby league team, the Queensland rugby union team, and the Australian cricket team. For his achievements, he was awarded the Commemorative 2000 Australian Sports Medal. In 1996, he created a forum for men and their partners diagnosed with prostate cancer. This led to him writing the first book on prostate cancer in Australia, "Conquering Incontinence: A new and physical approach to a freer lifestyle", in 2003. In 2002, Peter was appointed a member of the Order of Australia (AM).