Pain‐focused psychological interventions in women with endometriosis: A systematic review

Abstract

AimsAs a chronic inflammatory disease, endometriosis (EMS) is often associated with pain affecting different aspects of women's lives. Up to now, a wide variety of interventions have been implemented to alleviate pain in patients with this condition, including pharmacological, surgical, and rarely non‐pharmacological ones. Against this background, this review aimed to investigate pain‐focused psychological interventions among EMS women.MethodsA systematic review of the articles published in this field was conducted through a comprehensive search on the databases of Scopus, PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and Scientific Information Database (SID). The quality of studies was then assessed by the Jadad Scale.ResultsIn total, 10 articles were entered into this systematic review. The findings further revealed that the pain‐focused psychological interventions in patients with EMS were cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) (n = 2), mindfulness therapy (n = 4), yoga (n = 2), psychoeducation (n = 1), and progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) training (n = 1). Besides, the findings established that all the given interventions had improved and reduced pain in women living with this condition. Moreover, five articles were of good quality based on the Jadad Scale.ConclusionThe study results demonstrated that all the listed psychological interventions had affected pain relief and improvement in women suffering from EMS. Considering the limited number of studies in this field and the fact that there were only five articles endowed with good quality, more high‐quality studies could provide stronger evidence to support the implementation of the mentioned interventions influencing pain in patients.

Investigating Unhealthy Behaviors Associated with SF-36 Domains in Women with Endometriosis—Findings from a Web-Based Survey Data Set

“…In the literature, it has been evidenced that pain severity in women suffering from endometriosis was positively associated with subjective psychosocial impairment [ 58 ]. Psychological interventions for the management of pain have been instead documented as efficient [ 59 , 60 ]. The meaning of this literature evidence is that pain, as well as fatigue, has important psychological components that should always be assessed and treated when endometriosis is diagnosed.…”

The Impact of Mind-Body Medicine on Patient-Reported Outcomes in the Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain

“…However, these studies have shown improvements in sexual arousal, desire, and satisfaction and reduction in anxiety following mindfulness therapy. Another systematic review by Samami et al [ 17 ] on pain-focused psychological interventions in women with endometriosis showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, yoga, psychoeducation, and progressive muscle relaxation training were all associated with a reduction in pain, as quantified by the Numeric Rating Scale, Endometriosis Health Profile, Visual Analog Scale, 26-item Short Form Health Survey, and the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire. Bittelbrunn et al [ 18 ] also highlighted the importance of mindfulness and pelvic floor physical therapy as important components of pelvic pain management, shown by improvements in pain catastrophizing and sexual function after treatment with these interventions in their meta-analysis.…”

Interoceptive experiences and ecological care: an embodied approach within therapeutical realms

“…For example, interventions involving brief mindfulness training and shared interpersonal narratives have demonstrated efficacy in managing endometriosis-related pain and restoring psychological stability (Moreira et al, 2022). Also, treatments like mindfulness-psychological intervention with practices involving conscious pelvic movement, breathing techniques and empathetic attention to painful areas have shown to reduce pain (Samami et al, 2023).…”