ENDO-GYM: A holistic approach with pelvic floor physiotherapy and Yoga for endometriosis pain relief.

OBJECTIVE

To retrospectively evaluate the impact of ENDO-GYM Program, which combined Yoga practice and pelvic floor physiotherapy (PFP), on women with ultrasound and/or post-operative histological diagnosis of endometriosis pain resistant to standard treatments, including surgery and hormonal therapy.

METHODS

ENDO-GYM consisted of 12 weekly sessions over a period of 3 months, including two PFP sessions and 12 Yoga sessions. The EHP-30 questionnaires and the NRS scales collected before and after the Program were retrospectively used for this study to evaluate women's quality of life (QoL), chronic pelvic pain and dyspareunia.

RESULTS

A total of 50 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. At baseline, the mean total EHP-30 score was 44.9 ± 17.1 (range 13.2-88.6). After completing the ENDO-GYM Program, the mean score decreased to 39.9 ± 15.8. This reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.001), indicating an overall improvement in quality of life. Analysis of the EHP-30 subscales showed a significant improvement across all domains (all p < 0.001). Pain assessment using the NRS scale revealed that deep dyspareunia scores decreased from 7.1 ± 1.9 at baseline to 6.6 ± 2.5 at mid-intervention and 6.4 ± 2.6 at the end of the Program, with a statistically significant overall reduction (p = 0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

An integrative approach of PFP and Yoga practice can reduce pain and deep dyspareunia and improve the QoL in women with endometriosis and pain resistant to standard treatments.