What to do when the pudendal nerve is pinched or inflamed? Symptoms and treatment of ailment

The pudendal nerve, also called sexual, often causes chronic pelvic pains that occur in adults. The reason for this in most cases is a pinched nerve, which is called compression neuropathy. The pudendal nerve is pinched more often in women. In men, this happens three times less often.

Anatomical features

The pudend nerve along the length is small. But this is a very important nerve of the last sacral plexus (if you move from the brain). It is located in the pelvic cavity and on the way bypasses the sciatic bone. Then it is divided into three branches:

• Rectal.
• Perineal.
• Dorsal nerve of the clitoris or penis.

What functions does it perform?

• Innervates the muscle that lifts the anus and sphincter.
• Innervates the sphincter of the canal for urination.
• Innervates the female clitoris and cavernous bodies in men.
• Makes the sensitive skin of the anus and the external genitalia.

From the above list it is evident that the pudendal nerve plays a very important role both in the intimate life of a person, and during defecation and urination. The composition of this nerve includes a large number of vegetative fibers, which ensure the correct functioning of sphincters without the use of conscious tension. After all, people never think, do not try to control and do not compress their muscles consciously, so as not to urinate or defecate completely accidentally at the wrong time. These functions are assigned to the vegetative fibers that enter the pudendal nerve.

Pincushion: causes

Unpleasantness can occur because of a pear-shaped muscle located in the pelvic cavity or because of a pinch between a pair of ligaments.

In addition, the pudend nerve can be damaged after unforeseen situations, which include a road accident, a fall from a height. In such situations, a pelvic bone fracture may occur. Very often the cause of chronic pain is nerve damage during childbirth or its involvement in the growth of a malignant tumor.

It is worth mentioning that some types of human activities over time can also lead to pinching of the nerve. This includes riding a bicycle or a horse.

Pulmonic Nerve: Symptoms of Neuropathy

As with any other pinches, the symptoms are pain, sensitivity disorders, muscle weakness and disorders of the autonomic system.

When the pudendal nerve is trapped , the symptoms in women and men are similar:

• In the perineum there are painful sensations.
• Pain has a burning color.
• In the genitals and the anus, there are unpleasant sensations.
• Incontinence of urine and feces, which may be incomplete, that is, manifest themselves in the form of drip incontinence or calomization.
• Skin sensitivity decreases in these areas, there is a feeling of "goosebumps".
• In the anus and urethra, there may be an unpleasant presence of something foreign.
• There may be sexual disorders such as lack of orgasm and impotence.

When the pudendal nerve is trapped, symptoms in women, whose treatment should not be delayed, are observed in the lower part of the vagina. This gives a lot of discomfort.

You can feel severe pain during sexual intercourse and walking - such, in the event that the pudendal nerve is trapped, symptoms in men. Treatment is required immediately, as the pain becomes burning, and touching the skin acquires painfully unpleasant consequences. Feels like this can be described as the presence of a cold or hot foreign object or electric shock. In general, pinching the genital nerve entails a large number of unpleasant symptoms.

Patch Diagnostics

With the aforementioned painful and unpleasant sensations, a person simply can not stand it for a long time, because it is not such a pain as in the leg or arm. The most often suffering from neuropathy are addressed to either a neurologist or a proctologist if there are abnormalities associated with the anal sphincter or problems with incontinence of urine and urine.

In rare cases, patients can go to a sex therapist. But a good specialist with the help of simple questions should be able to identify organic violations, and then send the patient to the appropriate doctor. Pincushion of the nerve is diagnosed in the following studies and complaints:

• All those complaints that were listed earlier.
• Patients can note that when applying something cold to the perineum, temporary relief occurs and the burning pain begins to pass. Such a symptom suggests that nerve damage is of a neuropathic nature.
• When using a trial therapeutic and diagnostic nerve blockade with novocaine, the symptom severity decreases or completely eliminates all torment for the duration of the anesthetic, which lasts from 12 hours to 3 days.
• The nature of the painful sensations indicates that there was a jamming (unpleasant sensations when touched and all sorts of itching, burning and feeling "creepy").
• When performing ultrasound and dopplerography of the pelvis and perineum, in almost all cases when the sexual nerve is trapped, the rate of blood flow in the adjacent sexual artery slows down. Since it passes through the same channel as the nerve, narrowing of the artery indicates that it has also been subjected to compression.
• A very important criterion in diagnosis is the increase in pain in a person in a sitting position and a decrease when the patient lies on his back. To pinch the genital nerve is also characterized by defeat only on one side. It is on her that frustration is felt.

In addition to such diagnostic criteria, when probing the perineum, one can find characteristic areas, which are painful points, reflecting spasm in the muscles.

What is important is that the pathology of the pudend nerve is closely related to the development of myofascial syndrome, which can be treated much worse due to the deep arrangement of the muscles.

In addition, the entrapment of the genital nerve greatly increases depression and anxiety, and people become more susceptible to negative events.

Treatment of neuropathy of the pudend nerve

As in other situations, the treatment of this disease must be of a complex nature.

What are the main principles of neuropathy treatment?

• The effect on the character of the painful character of the painful sensations with the help of gabapentin, which is part of the medicines.
• Regular blockade of the nerve with the use of hormones and anesthetics.
• The use of muscle relaxants of the central action, which allow the muscles to relax, as a result of which the tone of the pear-shaped muscle decreases.
• The use of physiotherapeutic effects, which include electrophoresis, phonophoresis.
• The intake of B group vitamins, which are part of the blockade, and also in the form of tablets.

Other procedures

Often, the treatment of the pinch of the genital nerve requires the support of a good psychologist who performs corrective therapy and prescribes the use of antidepressants. You may need the appointment of vaginal or rectal suppository, which includes diazepam. The patient may be assigned to perform special physical exercises, the meaning of which is the slow compression and relaxation of muscles located in the perineum.

In those situations when conservative treatment methods do not have a positive effect, surgical operations of decompressive type are performed. They are performed in special centers for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain.

Long-term treatment

It must be remembered that the treatment of the neuropathy of the pudend nerve is a very long process, during which all the recommendations of the attending physician should be followed. The recovery period takes at least six months.

Treatment of the disease should be carried out only in the hospital, as this will allow doctors to take control of the healing process, as well as successfully select a set of tools that will be used for proper treatment. After all, for some funds a person may have an allergy, which will only worsen the situation.

Results

Thus, it was considered what is a pandemic nerve, symptoms and treatment when it is jammed, diagnosis. In order to avoid this disease, it is recommended to be careful and not to receive injuries, and also to lead an active lifestyle, engage in physical education and have an active sex life. Well, if the trouble did happen, then strictly follow the recommendations of doctors.