Endometriosis
Physiotherapy doesn't treat the endometriosis itself — but it treats a great deal of the pain that comes with it.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, causing inflammation, pain and sometimes adhesions. Diagnosis is frequently delayed by years, and by the time it arrives, many women have been living with significant pain for a long time.
That prolonged pain has secondary effects that are very treatable: pelvic floor muscles become chronically overactive and painful, the abdominal wall tightens, hips and back compensate, and the nervous system becomes more sensitive. These layers often account for a substantial part of day-to-day symptoms.
Common symptoms
- Severe period pain that disrupts normal activity
- Chronic pelvic or lower abdominal pain
- Deep pain during or after intercourse, or with penetration
- Pain with bowel movements or urination, often cyclical
- Bloating and abdominal tenderness
- Low back and hip pain
- Fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance
What causes it
- Endometrial-like tissue growing outside the uterus
- Inflammation and adhesion formation
- Protective pelvic floor muscle overactivity
- Post-surgical scar tissue after laparoscopy
- Central nervous system sensitisation over time
How physiotherapy helps
Pelvic health physiotherapy targets the musculoskeletal and nervous-system layers of endometriosis pain: releasing overactive pelvic floor and abdominal muscles, mobilising scar tissue, restoring hip and spine movement and reducing overall sensitivity.
It works best as part of a team alongside your gynaecologist, and it can make a meaningful difference to daily pain, intimacy and exercise tolerance — even while the underlying condition is being managed medically.
- Internal and external pelvic floor release
- Abdominal and diaphragm myofascial work
- Laparoscopy scar mobilisation
- Pain education and nervous-system regulation
- Bowel and bladder symptom management
- Graded, symptom-aware exercise programming
When to seek treatment
- After diagnosis, as part of a broader management plan
- While awaiting diagnosis with persistent pelvic pain
- Before and after laparoscopic surgery
- If intercourse or penetration is painful
- If pain is limiting work, exercise or sleep
Frequently asked questions
Let's get you moving again
If this sounds like what you're dealing with, an assessment is the quickest way to understand it properly. Endometriosis responds well to the right plan.