[2][5] Recommended treatments include multimodal therapy, physiotherapy, and a trial of alpha blocker medication or antibiotics in certain newly diagnosed cases.

Frequent urination and increased urgency may suggest interstitial cystitis (inflammation centred in bladder rather than prostate).

[12] The theory proposes that anxiety or stress results in chronic, unconscious contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, leading to the formation of trigger points and pain.

[14] Theories behind the disease include stress-driven hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction and adrenocortical hormone (endocrine) abnormalities,[15][16][17] and neurogenic inflammation.

Non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) resulting from CYP21A2 deficiency is typically considered asymptomatic in men.

[23][16][17] The bacterial infection theory was shown to be unimportant in a 2003 study which found that people with and without the condition had equal counts of similar bacteria colonizing their prostates.

[30] UCPPS is a term adopted by the network to encompass both IC/BPS and CP/CPPS, which are proposed as related based on their similar symptom profiles.

In addition to moving beyond traditional bladder- and prostate-specific research directions, MAPP Network scientists are investigating potential relationships between UCPPS and other chronic conditions that are sometimes seen in IC/PBS and CP/CPPS patients, such as irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.There are no definitive diagnostic tests for CP/CPPS.

[37] The high prevalence of WBCs and positive bacterial cultures in the asymptomatic control population raises questions about the clinical usefulness of the standard Meares–Stamey four-glass test as a diagnostic tool in men with CP/CPPS.

[44][45][46] A distinction is sometimes made between "IIIa" (Inflammatory) and "IIIb" (Noninflammatory) forms of CP/CPPS,[47] depending on whether pus cells (WBCs) can be found in the expressed prostatic secretions (EPS) of the patient.

[7] Acupuncture probably leads to a decrease in prostatitis symptoms when compared with standard medical therapy but may not reduce sexual problems.

Traditional spinal cord stimulation, also known as dorsal column stimulation has been inconsistent in treating pelvic pain: there is a high failure rate with these traditional systems due to the inability to affect all of the painful areas and there remains to be consensus on where the optimal location of the spinal cord this treatment should be aimed.

A newer form of spinal cord stimulation called dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG) has shown a great deal of promise for treating pelvic pain due to its ability to affect multiple parts of the nervous system simultaneously – it is particularly effective in patients with "known cause" (i.e. post surgical pain, endometriosis, pudendal neuralgia, etc.).

[74] Patients were given EDTA (to dissolve the calcifications) and three months of tetracycline (a calcium-leaching antibiotic with anti-inflammatory effects,[75] used here to kill the "pathogens"), and half had significant improvement in symptoms.

Single case reports have implicated herpes simplex virus (HSV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), but a study using PCR failed to demonstrate the presence of viral DNA in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome undergoing radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.

[84] Research has been conducted to understand how chronic bladder pain affects the brain, using techniques like MRI and functional MRI; as of 2016, it appeared that males with CP/CPPS have increased grey matter in the primary somatosensory cortex, the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex and in the central nucleus of the amygdala; studies in rodents have shown that blocking the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5, which is expressed in the central nucleus of the amygdala, can block bladder pain.

[14] In recent years, the prognosis for CP/CPPS has improved with the advent of multimodal treatment, phytotherapy, protocols aimed at quieting the pelvic nerves through myofascial trigger point release, anxiety control and chronic pain therapy.

The prevalence of symptoms suggestive of CPPS in this selected population was 5.7% in women and 2.7% in men, placing in doubt the role of the prostate gland.