Pudendal nerve entrapment (PNE), also known as Alcock canal syndrome, is an uncommon source of chronic pain in which the pudendal nerve (located in the pelvis) is entrapped or compressed in Alcock's canal. There are several different types of PNE based on the site of entrapment anatomically (see Anatomy). Pain is positional and is worsened by sitting. Other symptoms include genital numbness, fecal incontinence and urinary incontinence.

The term pudendal neuralgia (PN) is often used interchangeably with "pudendal nerve entrapment". This condition can greatly affect a person's quality of life. Pudendal neuralgia can be caused by many factors including inflammation, extreme cycling, and can be a "secondary condition to childbirth". A 2009 review study found both that "prevalence of PN is unknown and it seems to be a rare event" and that "there is no evidence to support equating the presence of this syndrome with a diagnosis of pudendal nerve entrapment," meaning that it is possible to have all the symptoms of pudendal nerve entrapment (otherwise known as pudendal neuralgia) based on the criteria specified at Nantes in 2006, without having an entrapped pudendal nerve.

A 2015 study of 13 normal female cadavers found that the pudendal nerve was attached or fixed to the sacrospinous ligament (therefore "entrapped") in all cadavers studied, suggesting that the diagnosis of pudendal nerve entrapment may be overestimated.