Zohreh Shahhosseini , Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi , Souri Soleimani ,
Volume 17, Issue 0 (4-2020)
Abstract
Background: Endometriosis refers to the presence of endometrial tissue (endocrine glands and stroma) outside of the uterine cavity. The prevalence of this disease is approximately 10% of women in the general population. Since there is no definitive treatment for endometriosis, medical and surgical treatment often reduces more symptoms and it prevents the progression of the disease while each of them encompasses a special side effect. CAM treatments (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) are non-pharmacologic interventions that reduce pain and mood disorder and also help to improve women's quality of life through mind and body interventions. The aim of this study was to address non-pharmacological interventions in endometriosis pain management.
Methods: This study was a review that for compile this article, at first search was done in Google Scholar database and more specifically in Persian databases such as Scientific Information Database (SID), Magiran, Iranmedex and English databases like PubMed, Springer, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct with key words such as endometriosis, chronic pelvic pain, hypnotisis, cognitive behavioral therapy and massage and articles related with the topic of this article were searched from 2000 to 2017. A total of 400 articles were searched that in abstract screening stage 122 articles were deleted due to being duplicate and 256 articles were deleted due to the lack of relevance with the objectives of the study and finally after reviewing the full text of articles, 22 articles were used for writing this study.
Results: The results of reviewing studies regarding the non-pharmacological treatments methods for endometriosis were organized in 6 main categories. 1. Moxibustion, a traditional Chinese medicine that involves of moxa at specific points of the body, 2. Medicinal herbs such as Astragalus, Ginkgo and Ginseng, 3. Massage therapy, 4. Psychological interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, 5. Acupuncture, such as ear and body acupuncture, 6. Chinese Enema.
Conclusions: It seems that non-pharmacological treatments reduce the pain score in patients with endometriosis. These treatments can be proposed as common methods to treat patients with painful conditions of reproductive system including endometriosis. However, further studies on this issue should be conducted with larger samples with specified pain conditions.
Mahdi Rezvaniamin , Alireza Salar , Zahra Pournamdar , Nazanin Yousefian ,
Volume 22, Issue 4 (12-2025)
Abstract
Background: Headache is common in multiple sclerosis and is associated with greater functional disability. We aimed to determine whether a structured progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) program reduces headache-related disability in multiple sclerosis.
Methods: We conducted a parallel-group, quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study at Multiple Sclerosis Society clinics in Zahedan, Iran (2023). Adults with MS and recurrent headaches were allocated to PMR (n = 30) or usual care (n = 30). The PMR intervention comprised three 20 - 30-minute group sessions on consecutive days plus daily home practice for six weeks; adherence was supported by weekly phone calls. The primary outcome was the Headache Disability Inventory (HDI; 0 - 88), measured at baseline and at 3-month follow-up. Analyses were conducted using SPSS version 24 and employed χ² tests and ANCOVA, adjusting for baseline HDI and disease duration (α = 0.05).
Results: Sixty participants completed the trial (30 in the PMR group and 30 in the control group). The groups were comparable in age and gender at baseline; however, disease duration was significantly longer in the PMR group (p = 0.014). At the 3-month follow-up, HDI scores showed a significant decrease in the PMR group (21.5 ± 15.6) and a significant increase in the control group (45.1 ± 16.9), resulting in a significant between-group difference (p < 0.001). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for baseline HDI scores and disease duration, confirmed a significant treatment effect (F = 25.07, p < 0.001) with a large effect size (partial η2 = 0.305).
Conclusion: A six-week progressive muscle relaxation program significantly reduced headache-related disability at 3-month follow-up in multiple sclerosis and appears to be a feasible, low-cost adjunct to routine care. Larger randomized trials with longer follow-up and objective adherence tracking are warranted.
