What is the cause of pelvic congestion syndrome?
Pelvic congestion syndrome is caused by swollen varicose veins in the female pelvis. These varicose veins are caused by this malfunctioning valves in the ovarian and internal iliac veins. Usually blood is taken away from the pelvis by these veins. If the valves stop working, the blood falls back into the pelvis making the veins swell and become “congested”. The symptoms of pelvic congestion syndrome are caused by these varicose veins pushing on the other organs in the pelvis: ● Pressure of the varicose veins downwards on the floor of the pelvis gives the aching or dragging sensation, especially on standing ● Pressure on the rectum causes bowel symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome ● Pressure on the bladder causes irritable bladder and sometimes stress incontinence ● Pressure on the vagina can cause deep dyspareunia (discomfort on sexual intercourse) After a vaginal birth, the valves in the veins of the vagina can be damaged, allowing blood to escape from the pelvic varicose veins a
