Pelvic floor myalgia

Muscles can be hypertonic or overly tight and they therefore will become dysfunctional. That is, they do not relax the way they should when you attempt to pass urine or pass stool.  When muscles are overly tight, they also can produce pain.  Muscle pain is called myalgia.  This term has been used for years and to me it is the best term.  Other terms include levator syndrome, pelvic floor pain or proctalgia fugax.  Muscles can be hypertonic and not be a major source of pain-only dysfunction.  A simple examination by your provider or a trained physical therapist will quickly clarify if your problems are involving both dysfunction and tenderness-this is the most common situation.  It is very important to recognize that our natural response to pain is to tense the muscles in the area of pain but when the muscles are causing the pain then tensing the muscles cause more pain.  It is this vicious cycle that is the key to making this common component of pelvic pain disorders go away.