<s>[INST] Hi I am 41 and experiencing pain in my lower back, in my legs and in my lower abdominal area. Almost feels like period pains but they are different. I finished my menstral cycle last Thursday. The soreness is almost as bad as when I started exercise again and feeling stiff. It has been getting worse over the last few months. Please can you give me an indication as to what it might be? Kind regards Lesley [/INST] Hello Lesley,Thanks for posting on HCM,From your description, it is most likely that you are suffering from acute PID and you will require to visit a gynobs who may do you physical exams, run some tests including STD screening, urinalysis (to rule out possible urinary tract infection), maybe a vaginal smear, blood tests such as CBC, CRP, ESR and perhaps a pelvic ultrasound. These are aimed to either coinfrim or rule out acute PID or determine another cause.If acute PID is the cause, then your doctor might decide to hospitalize you depending on the gravity for IV antibiotics or simply provide you with oral antibiotics for home-use, this in combination with appropriate antiinflammatory medication. Hope this helps </s>