“I have a stabbing pain in my lower abdomen. Should I be worried?”
I am a 32-year-old woman and I am having a stabbing pain in the lower part of my abdomen. I took a painkiller and the pain subsided for a bit, but now it's back. Should I be worried about it?
4 Answers
Chronic pelvic pain can have multiple causes, including: infection, neuropathies, endometriosis in women and prostatitis in men and other causes like interstitial cystitis.
For example, you could have pudendal neuropathy. The main symptom of pudendal neuralgia (PN) and pudendal nerve entrapment (PNE) is pain in one or more of the areas innervated by the pudendal nerve or one of its branches. These areas include the rectum, anus, urethra, perineum, and genital area, but often pain is referred to nearby areas in the pelvis.
If your pelvic pain increases while sitting and is relieved by lying down then you should consider seeking an expert consultation with a pain management specialist. Treatment for this condition includes self-care, a nerve protection program, pudendal nerve block, and surgical decompression.
Another common condition is coccydynia or pain in the tailbone. Again, patient history and a physical examination will help with diagnosis. This condition can be treated by NSAIDS or special injections like ganglion nerve of impar block. This is a safe and easy procedure used to treat visceral, pelvic, genital, perineal and anal pain. A blockade of the ganglion of impar can decrease or even eliminate chronic pain originating from the perineum, distal rectum, anus, distal urethra, distal vagina and others.
For example, you could have pudendal neuropathy. The main symptom of pudendal neuralgia (PN) and pudendal nerve entrapment (PNE) is pain in one or more of the areas innervated by the pudendal nerve or one of its branches. These areas include the rectum, anus, urethra, perineum, and genital area, but often pain is referred to nearby areas in the pelvis.
If your pelvic pain increases while sitting and is relieved by lying down then you should consider seeking an expert consultation with a pain management specialist. Treatment for this condition includes self-care, a nerve protection program, pudendal nerve block, and surgical decompression.
Another common condition is coccydynia or pain in the tailbone. Again, patient history and a physical examination will help with diagnosis. This condition can be treated by NSAIDS or special injections like ganglion nerve of impar block. This is a safe and easy procedure used to treat visceral, pelvic, genital, perineal and anal pain. A blockade of the ganglion of impar can decrease or even eliminate chronic pain originating from the perineum, distal rectum, anus, distal urethra, distal vagina and others.
Abdominal pain is a complicated symptom because it could come from so many sources. My best response is to see you physician so he can take a detailed history and perform a physical. Although there are many benign reasons (gas or constipation) to have abdominal pain, there are also many serious reasons (appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy, bowel obstruction) as well. All these may present with stabbing lower abdominal pain. I definitely wouldn’t take a pain killer without knowing the source of the pain. If you don’t improve, see your PCP.
Stabbing pain in the abdomen is not necessarily a cause for alarm. Many very simple explanations can be found. The fact that a painkiller helped is encouraging. But you should certainly have a healthcare professional fully examine you to evaluate the source of the pain.
Need to be checked by your PCP.
