Pelvic health physiotherapy and its role in the treatment of endometriosis. A pilot study
Mohamed M. Hosni, Victoria Jones, Stewart DisuIntroduction:
Endometriosis is chronic inflammatory condition that affects roughly 200 million women worldwide. International guidelines recommend surgical or pharmacological interventions as first-line treatments. Nevertheless, it is estimated that 20%–40% of women continue to have symptoms despite surgical and/or pharmacological treatment. There is emerging evidence from physiotherapy around supporting patients in managing the devastating symptoms of endometriosis to reduce pain, improve pelvic function and enhance quality of life.
Objectives:
The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the role of pelvic health physiotherapy in relieving endometriosis associated pelvic pain and dysfunction as a complement or alternative to current medical and surgical treatments.
Materials and methods:
This was a prospective, cohort single-arm pilot study, that included 30 women with endometriosis associated pelvic pains. All patients received up to 6 sessions of 1:1 pelvic physiotherapy. We used British Society for Gynaecology Endoscopy (BSGE) pelvic pain questionnaire, to detect any improvement in pelvic pains or function.
Results:
The results of this pilot study showed that 69% of women with endometriosis associated pelvic pains and dysfunction reported significant improvement in their quality of life. This study provides crucial data to calculate the sample size and indicates the need to modify the content of necessary physiotherapy sessions for conducting a large randomized controlled-trial.
Conclusion:
Pelvic health physiotherapy could represent an emerging innovative conservative therapeutic option for women with endometriosis associated pelvic pains. The results of large randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm the impact of this form of intervention on larger endometriosis community.