Pelvic pain while walking can be a potent decelerator in your daily activities. Not to mention the immense suffering it can bring upon an individual. It can have different modalities based on your age, gender, biology, familial history, etc. Knowing its specific causes and rejecting inappropriate ideas from invading your mind is necessary to recover fast.
Now, why do people face pelvic pain when walking?
Pelvic pain can be the manifestation of several diseases ranging from mild to severe. The causes are many including strains, sprains, fractures, infections, endometriosis, cancer, arthritis, etc. The pain increases and aggravates with walking and other movements. Treatments vary accordingly.
You can know more details and have more clarity from the following segments.
Table of Content
5 Major Causes of Pelvic Pain When Walking
Having pelvic girdle pain when walking might irritate you continuously. This can be a symptom of other underlying problems. Wondering what they might be? This segment of the article will enlighten you on this.
Have a look at them:
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Certain issues with your muscle and bones can cause you this hardship. Here’s a brief discussion on disorder involving the musculoskeletal system:
Sprains and Strains
Small tears can occur due to overstretching of ligaments and tendons. These are termed sprains and strains respectively.They cause pain and swelling. So any strain on your pelvic area may cause pelvic pain.
Trochanteric Bursitis
There is a large bursa (fluid-filled sac) in the hip. It’s situated between a bony area and a thick band of tissue. Inflammation of this bursa may happen due to wrong posture, abnormal joint movements, etc. This causes pelvic pain while walking for a long time.
Tendinitis
Inflammation in the tendons due to any reason is termed as tendinitis. People with sore hip tendons feel dull pain in their pelvic area. The pain may increase with movements like walking.
Post-Surgical Issues
Many times scar tissues can form in different organs in the pelvis after surgery. This may cause pelvic pain later on while walking. You may consider visiting a doctor if the pain doesnot subside with time.
Weakened Muscles
Due to physical inactivity, the pelvic musculature can become weak and tense. This also results in pelvic pain when walking. Like, pelvic floor muscle pain which occurs mainly in women.
Bones and Joint Related Diseases
Pelvic bone pain when walking can be pretty much irritating. Bone associated conditions causing pain are:
- Pelvic fracture
- Pelvic cancer
- Sacroiliac joint pain
- Pubic symphysis dysfunction
- Osteitis pubis
- Bone cancer
Again with age and senility, osteoarthritis can be severe and debilitating.
Inguinal Hernia
Inguinal hernia is the bulging of contents from their original position directly or indirectly in the pelvis. This can commonly occur both in men and women.
Patients with this hernia may complain of pelvic pain while walking. The may also experience pain while coughing, elevating heavy objects and prolonged standing.
Nerve Related Disorders
Along with muscles and bones, you can have pelvic pain due to nerve associated conditions. Have a look at some of them below:
Sciatica
It is the irritation of the sciatic nerve running through the pelvis and thigh. This can cause radiating pain in the buttock and back of the thigh. Often the piriformis muscle puts pressure on the sciatic nerve due to excessive sitting, movement loss, etc.
Pelvic Nerve Pain
Chronic nerve pain can occur due to involvement of any of the four nerves:
- Pudendal
- Genito-femoral nerves
- Ilioinguinal
- Iliohypogastric
Hence, any of these nerve damage can cause you pain while walking. But walking on a plain terrain might not cause you any pain. However, pudendal neuralgia a serious condition and needs proper medical attention.
Infections and Inflammations
Any sort of inflammation in your body will cause you pain. Inflammation in your pelvic area is no exception. So, following are some inflammatory disease that might cause pelvic pain while walking:
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
It is an infection of the reproductive organs, especially by sexually transmitted microorganisms. Like, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, etc. The patient can be asymptomatic initially. Later, the symptoms appear gradually. Commonly, they complain of pelvic pain along with lower abdominal pain when walking. Other symptoms include:
- Difficult urination
- Fever
- Painful intercourse
- Difficulties in getting pregnant
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Heavy vaginal discharge
Appendicitis
This is the inflammation of the appendix due to the blockade of its opening. It is usually acute and needs emergency medical attention.
Right sided pelvic pain is a very common symptom of appendicitis. So, if you are having pelvic pain while walking, it might be because of appendicitis. Have a glance at its other symptoms as well:
- Appetite loss and nausea
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
Diverticulitis
Diverticulitis is an inflammation of the small pouch-like structures of the large intestine. This can help in initiating bacterial infections. Pain occurs in case of jarring movements, including walking. You may also notice other problems like:
- Fever
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
Symptoms of Pelvic Pain
Pelvic pain refers to the pain which occurs between your thighs and belly button. It can be the manifestation of a spectrum of disorders. However, the causes of pelvic pain can differ in males and females.
This pain mostly include the musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, reproductive organ problems, infections, or nerve conditions. Some common disorders include kidney infections and stones, hernias, intestinal and pelvis disorders, appendicitis, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
Chronic pelvic pain is more often related to women. It can occur due to ectopic pregnancy, endometriosis, fibroids, pelvic inflammatory diseases, ovarian cysts, cancer (genital organs), etc.
Blood and urine tests, lower endoscopy, ultrasound, CT scan, etc. diagnose the diseases. Depending upon the cause, nature and frequency of pain, the treatment options vary.
Treatment Options
It is important to know the cause behind your pelvic pain first before starting the treatment. After diagnosis, the physician will prescribe suitable treatments accordingly.
Following are the treatment options for pelvic pain:
- Medications like prescription pain relievers, muscle relaxants are used to treat pain and inflammation. Injectable corticosteroids help to ease inflammation.
- In case of infections, antimicrobial agents, especially antibiotics are used.
- TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is a procedure used to relieve pain.
- Surgery is conducted in case no other treatments are useful.
- Physical therapy is very useful. It has multiple uses for treating pelvic pain from different origins. This helps to improve joint mobility, muscle strength, etc. Like, muscle energy techniques are used to treat muscle stiffness by lengthening and shortening muscles.
- Ice-compress can help to restrict blood circulation and thus numb the pain sensation. It can decrease swelling and inflammation too. On the other hand, heat therapy is useful in case of pain due to muscle spasms. It increases oxygen and blood flow to the muscle tissues. You’ve to use these two techniques judiciously to identify the cause and nature of your pelvic pain.
- There are home remedies as well. This includes using a hot-water bag, elevating legs, yoga, and meditation. Having herbs like willow bark and taking over-the-counter analgesics like acetaminophen, aspirin, etc might also help.
Preventive Measures
Being aware of the causes and risk factors of pelvic pain is important. These will help you to take precautionary steps. So, take a quick look at them:
- Be physically active and avoid a sedentary lifestyle.
- Stretch your muscles every day. It’s better to do it after waking up every morning for at least 5 minutes.
- Avoid prolonged use of any limb or muscles. Like, standing or walking for a very long time. Your muscles can get fatigued.
- If you are a vegan, then take vitamin B12 capsules regularly. It’s better to take calcium tablets too.
- Add more fibers to your diet and limit red meat as much as possible. Try to have complementary proteins like mixed rice and pulse.
- Have a regular full body check-up at least once or twice every six months.
- Consult your doctor if there are any signs of infection or inflammation like swelling, pain, reddening, etc.
- Consider doing an X-ray if you fall or get injured. This is to see if there is any fracture or dislocation in your bones and joints.
FAQs
What does pelvic pain in women indicate?
Pelvic pain is a common problem for many women around the world. It can be for any musculoskeletal disorder which can be diagnosed by radiography tests. It can indicate some severe diseases too, like endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cancer, etc. The main treatments include manual therapy, medications, and surgery.
Why there is pelvic bone pain when walking during pregnancy?
You might face this sort of pain due to symphysis pubis dysfunction. In this case, there are uneven movements of the pelvic joints or joint stiffness. The condition aggravates on climbing stairs, walking or changing sides while on the bed.
Why does pelvic pain increase during walking?
Walking can aggravate your already affected muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, or nerves in the pelvis. These will increase your pain sensation and affect your prognosis. So, if you have pelvic pain, take rest even after light physical activities.
Bottom Line
Pelvic pain when walking needs to be taken seriously. As it can be due to any serious underlying disorder, it can deteriorate without treatment. Identifying the cause through a proper diagnosis is halfway through the battle. Physical therapy is bringing sgnificant changes and hopes for a cure in this respect. So, know your problems and their treatment options. Good luck!
