The round ligament syndrome (RLS) is a possible explanation for abdominal pain in a pregnant woman during the first trimester. It occurs as the ligament stretches to support the gravid uterus.
Clinical features:
(1) The patient experiences pelvic and/or low back pain.
(2) The pain can be severe and sharp if the ligament undergoes spasm.
(3) The pain tends to be worse on the right side (if the uterus turns to the right).
(4) The pain may be worse at night and can be triggered by body movements during sleep.
The pain can be severe enough to cause significant disability.
The diagnosis often is one of exclusion.
It would be interesting if stretching of the round ligament from multiple leiomyomata could cause a similar syndrome.
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