What is PNE frequently misdiagnosed as?
Chris R., a PNE sufferer and medical student at the Medical College of Georgia, US, and now a doctor, had this to say in 2002: “Many PNE patients are originally diagnosed with one or multiple vague pelvic pain disorders before getting the correct diagnosis. The most common diagnoses are: prostatodynia, nonbacterial prostatitis, idiopathic vulvodynia (idiopathic means unknown cause), idiopathic orchialgia, idiopathic proctalgia, idiopathic penile pain, Levator ani syndrome, and coccydynia. “The reason for these many diagnoses is that the pudendal nerves innervate urogenital and anorectal tissues, cutaneous (skin) tissue, and many small but very important muscles in the perineum. The muscles include: the external anal sphincter, puborectalis portion of the levator ani muscle, superficial and deep transverse perineus muscles, ischicavernosus, bulbospongiosus, and the external urethral sphincter. “Irritation of the pudendal nerves can cause muscle spasms in one or more of the aforementione
