2025 Urogynecology for the Advanced Practice Provider-Chronic Pelvic Pain and Vulvodynia: Clinical Frameworks for Evaluation and Management

Chronic Pelvic Pain and Vulvodynia: Clinical Frameworks for Evaluation and Management

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. King, a leading gynecologic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, shared her extensive expertise on diagnosing and managing chronic pelvic pain and vulvodynia. Emphasizing holistic patient care, she stressed the need for comprehensive history-taking, starting with non-invasive observation and then detailed physical examinations to identify the pain source. Dr. King highlighted the importance of ruling out immediate acute conditions, leveraging standard questionnaires, and setting realistic patient expectations for multi-step, ongoing treatment strategies. Chronic pelvic pain, common in women of reproductive age, remains a complex challenge. It requires a multitude of potential interventions: hormonal suppression, pelvic floor physical therapy, cognitive and functional medicine strategies, and careful pharmacological management with NSAIDs, anticonvulsants, or custom-compounded topical analgesics, often through a multi-disciplinary approach involving medical professionals from varied specialties. Dr. King advocates for rigorous, empathetic communication with patients to help them understand and navigate their pain, potentially mitigating their central sensitization and encouraging gradual but steadfast progress toward symptom relief. Her message emphasized personalized care and patience, fostering patient buy-in and long-term improvement in their life quality through structured, evidence-based strategy frameworks.

Asset Subtitle

Speaker - Cara King

Keywords

chronic pelvic pain

vulvodynia

holistic patient care

comprehensive history-taking

multi-disciplinary approach

pelvic floor physical therapy

pharmacological management

central sensitization

personalized care

evidence-based strategies