Exercise and endometriosis—is there a promising future? A narrative review

Background Endometriosis is the leading cause of chronic pelvic pain in women of reproductive age with debilitating effects on quality of life, yet no cure exists. Exercise yields the potential in providing women with a non-invasive, non-pharmacological method of symptom control. Aim(s) Present up-to-date knowledge regarding how exercise may contribute to the management of endometriosis-related symptoms. Objective(s) Discuss: - 1. The pathophysiology surrounding exercise and endometriosis. - 2. The role of exercise in endometriosis symptom control. Rationale Scientific literature has alluded to exercise being a favourable factor in the management of endometriosis-related symptoms. Moreover, current clinical guidelines for endometriosis fail to reflect the aforementioned benefits of exercise. Search strategy A search strategy using the terms ‘endometriosis’, ‘endometriomas’, ‘exercise’, and ‘physical activity’ was devised. Pubmed, Medline, Cochrane reviews, and Embase were reviewed. Inclusion criteria Interventional studies, within-subjects studies, randomised-control trials, systematic reviews, meta-analysis, cohort studies, publication since 2000. Exclusion criteria Non-English publications, non-human studies.

Numerous studies have suggested positive effects for endometriosis patients who performed exercise exclusively or in conjunction with other therapies. Improvements in pain levels, quality of life, anxiety, and depression were noted.

Current research outlines promise regarding the potential benefit of exercise prescribing in patients with endometriosis as well as a synergy between exercise and hormonal therapies for the management of endometriosis-related symptoms. However, the current paucity of high-quality robust studies investigating these aspects of endometriosis management is an apparent obstacle to progression in this area.

For clinicians to incorporate exercise in managing endometriosis, clear recommendations regarding advice and benefits are needed. Similar content being viewed by others

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Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law. About this article Cite this article McKnight, K., Omotosho, O., Jassim, S. et al. Exercise and endometriosis—is there a promising future? A narrative review. Ir J Med Sci 193, 2375–2387 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-024-03733-2 Received: Accepted: Published: Version of record: Issue date: DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-024-03733-2