Letters
Women's health
Volume 190 - Issue 1

Prevalence and correlates of three types of pelvic pain in a nationally representative sample of Australian women

Authors:  David Vivian and Adele Barnard

Med J Aust 2009; 190 (1): 47-48. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02269.x
Published online: 5 January 2009
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To the Editor: We read the recent article by Pitts and colleagues1 with interest, given the rising trend of diagnosed chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in Australian women. The article identified three types of CPP, but did not differentiate pain into the two major categories of nociceptive (visceral and somatic) and neuropathic. In pain management settings it is considered essential, where possible, to make this differentiation, as it significantly alters management strategies, particularly in relation to medication. While the true incidence of neuropathic pain is unknown, it is believed to be underdiagnosed and inadequately treated. A 2008 French study based on a nationwide postal survey revealed a 6.9% prevalence of neuropathic pain in the general population, with 5.1% of respondents reporting pain levels as moderate to severe.2

Neuropathic pain results from damage to the nervous system. Specifically, this can be from damage to, or pathological changes in, the axons of peripheral nerves or from damage to the central nervous system, probably as a result of deafferentation. This is the process whereby neurones in the central nervous system lose their accustomed afferent input, either from a peripheral nerve or from an ascending sensory tract. Furthermore, neuropathic pain can and does cross neuroanatomical boundaries, often presenting viscerally as referred pain and eliciting pain descriptors such as burning, shooting, stabbing, and searing. For this reason, CPP is often wrongly assumed to be visceral in origin.3 In such cases, awareness that CPP may in fact be neuropathic may avoid inappropriate surgical interventions. Moreover, an association between CPP and neuropathy has been demonstrated in studies of sacral nerve and percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation in women presenting with CPP.4,5

Differential diagnosis of pain of neuropathic origin has been shown to be pertinent for the accurate implementation of pain management strategies.6 Therefore, we suggest that future studies on the epidemiology and/or prevalence of pain include tools to determine the proportion of pain of neuropathic, nociceptive and mixed origin. There are a number of tools available, including questionnaires such as painDETECT, DN4 (Douleur Neuropathique en 4), LANSS (Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs) and NPS (Neuropathic Pain Scale). Some of these, such as the self-assessed LANSS (S-LANSS), do not require clinical examination and thus can be worked into population-based questionnaires. The ability to identify neuropathic pain should lead to individualised treatment, resulting in improved pain control for patients with CPP.

Authors

  • David Vivian1
  • Adele Barnard1
  • 1. Metro Spinal Clinic, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: dvivian@metrospinal.com.au

References

View this article on Wiley Online Library

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