Therapeutic Role of Dance in the Treatment of Endometriosis-Related Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Proofof- Concept Study

Background: Endometriosis causes chronic pelvic pain in many of the women affected, which may not remit after surgery or pharmacological treatment. Physical exercise as complementary therapy has already shown to be beneficial QoL in some chronic diseases, including endometriosis, but has not hitherto tested in the form of dance.

Material and Methods: A prospective cohort-proof-of-concept, open-label study, was conducted during the first half of 2017 in a private gynecologic center in Barcelona (Spain). Participants attended 12 dance sessions along eight weeks and were followed for one month after the end of the therapy. 6 nulliparous women who had been preciously treated by one or more surgeries, without current evidence of endometriosis but complaining of endometriosis-related chronic pelvic pain were included in this proof-ofconcept study. Pain, QoL and anxiety and kinesiophobia parameters were measured along the study.

Results: Results showed a benefit for the QoL parameters, being significant for the SF-36, which improved in a 20.5% for its Mental Component Summary and in a 16.4% for its Physical Component Summary. The other parameters did not reach clinical significance although improvement outcomes were observed for Zung scale and Tampa scale of kinesiophobia. Pain outcomes, measured with the Endometriosis Associated Pelvic Pain scale, did not show a significant improvement along the study.

Conclusion: Although studies with more ambitious design are needed in order to extrapolate the results of this proof of concept, physical exercise seems to have a beneficial effect on QoL of women with endometriosis-related chronic pain.

Keywords: Endometriosis; Chronic pelvic pain; Physical exercise; Dancing; Quality of life