March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. 

Today, we explore different exercises someone can do at home to relieve endometriosis pain. 

For more information on endometriosis, see our article HERE.

Before we begin exploring gentle movements to relieve pain, we will cover how someone may identify the pain they are having could be endometriosis. The unfortunate truth is that endometriosis can only be confirmed through laparoscopic surgery. Most people go years without getting a diagnosis or proper treatment. One study found that the average delay of diagnosis is 8.5 years!¹ This is for many reasons, including the lack of awareness of the condition, the many bodily systems it involves that complicates the clinical picture, and the absence of noninvasive diagnostic testing to detect endometriosis. Through this, doctors are able to identify the endometrial-like tissue (tissue that is similar to, but not the same as, the lining of the uterus) that can be found throughout the body.

I have been going to see Heather for a while now, and I can't tell you enough how much she has improved my quality of life. Heather specializes in issues like pelvic floor, but I see her for other orthopedic issues.

I have a lot of chronic joint pain and dysfunction issues (back, hips, neck) that require that have ongoing physical therapy maintenance. The effects of my problem joints/areas overlap and interconnect with each other in complex ways, so helping me requires really having a complete understanding of the entire skeletal and muscular system. Pain does not always appear where the problem actually is, the human body is a twisty, many-layered puzzle. I have an exercise program I do at home and I am very functional, but there are just something things I need a PT to help me out with.