Pelvic pain and endometriosis a key focus at major pain medicine meeting
Persistent pelvic pain and endometriosis-associated pain affect hundreds of thousands of Australian women and girls and will be a major focus when leading pain medicine specialists meet for the second day of the FPM Spring Meeting.
The Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) 2026 Spring Meeting will feature a dedicated session on “Pelvic pain as a model for integrated care”, bringing together specialists from across disciplines to examine multidisciplinary and evidence-based approaches to pelvic pain.
FPM Vice-Dean Dr Irina Hollington says the session reflects an important and growing focus on improving how pelvic pain is recognised and treated.
“Women and girls experiencing pelvic pain can spend years searching for answers, while their pain affects their education, work, relationships and everyday life,” Dr Hollington says.
“We need to listen carefully when people tell us about their pain, recognise symptoms early and ensure they can access individualised, multidisciplinary care based on the best available evidence.”
Quality research on the management of persistent pelvic pain emphasises the importance of early intervention and close attention to symptoms. FPM’s PS15(PM): Statement on pelvic pain and endometriosis and background paper provides guidance for clinicians on a whole-person, evidence-based approach to care.
The professional document was developed by an expert group of specialist pain medicine physicians who also hold specialist qualifications in obstetrics and gynaecology, and have extensive daily experience caring for people with persistent pelvic pain, including those diagnosed with endometriosis.
FPM Dean Professor Michael Veltman says the timing of the meeting is particularly important following the release of the Victorian Women’s Pain Standard on 11 September.
“The Victorian Women’s Pain Standard provides an important foundation for improving the consistency and quality of pain care for women and girls, and we would like to see that approach reflected more broadly across Australia,” Professor Veltman says.
“The faculty looks forward to continuing to advocate for better standards of care, stronger evidence-based practice and greater access to multidisciplinary pain care nationally.”
The pelvic pain session forms part of the broader 2026 FPM Spring Meeting program, “Advancing pain care: Challenges and opportunities,” bringing clinicians, researchers, trainees, allied health professionals and consumer advocates together from 2-3 October to share evidence, explore emerging approaches and consider the future of pain care.
The session follows the faculty’s National Pain Education Summit held in Melbourne on 1 October, which brought together more than 150 delegates from across Australia to explore implementation of the Australian Standards for Health Practitioner Pain Management Education and opportunities to strengthen pain care across the health system.
Professor Veltman says the two events highlight the importance of connecting education with evidence-based clinical care.
“The Summit and Spring Meeting give us an opportunity to strengthen that understanding, improve pain education, and advance how we recognise, manage and treat pain.
