Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition where you have lesions that are like plaques that can grow anywhere in the abdominal cavity. And so typically people say that it grows just on the outside of the uterus instead of inside of the uterus. But it can actually grow anywhere on the abdominal wall, sometimes on the bowel and sometimes on the diaphragm. And then oftentimes on the pelvic floor, which can lead to other pelvic pain syndromes that we treat, specifically pelvic floor dysfunction, as those lesions can cause direct inflammation into the muscles and nerves of the pelvic floor. It can start affecting the quality of the muscle tissue, it can affect the blood flow, it can affect the nerves in the area and create neurogenic inflammation. And it can also start affecting the central nervous system or the way the brain processes pain.
A lot of patients come into us nervous because they’ve all heard there’s no cure for endometriosis. But we really look at the whole system to try to relieve the pain of endometriosis by treating all the other systems that can be affected by it. We really work best in conjunction with other providers like the endometriosis surgeons. Sometimes we need to refer to an orthopedic surgeon if people start having other issues with their hips get involved. There really is hope for pain relief from endometriosis. A lot of times it’s just finding the right providers and treatments to give you that relief. I find that it’s very helpful for me having gone through the pain and suffering of endometriosis. I understand because I’ve felt those same strange sensations before that no one else has been able to understand. And I’m able to give that affirmation back to the patient and say, “No, I’ve dealt with this too. What you’re experiencing is real and that’s a symptom that goes along with endometriosis.” I just think of how much my quality of life would have improved if I was able to seek these treatments sooner. And that’s why we’re trying to reach out to people at a younger age to try to prevent these things going on for years and years and causing mental anguish that really we could help prevent.