Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for endometriosis-associated pain A retrospective study

This retrospective study evaluated the effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain (EAP). A total of 154 patients with EAP were included and were divided into 2 groups in this retrospective study. Eighty-three patients were assigned a treatment group, and underwent NMES therapy, while 71 subjects in the control group were at waiting list. The primary outcome of pain was measured by the numerical rating scale (NRS) and the Endometriosis Symptom Severity scale (ESSS). The secondary outcome was quality of life, measured by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). All outcomes were measured before and after 5-week and 10-week treatment. Moreover, we also recorded the adverse events in this study. After 5-week treatment, no significant differences in all outcome measurements were found between the 2 groups. However, after 10-week treatment, NMES therapy exerted better outcomes in NRS (P=.02), ESSS (P=.04), and SF-36 [Physical Component Summary (PCS), P<.01; Mental Component Summary (MCS), P<.01], compared with the patients at the waiting list. Moreover, no significant differences of all adverse events were found between the 2 groups, although mild and acceptable adverse events occurred in the treatment group. This study demonstrated that NMES is effective for treating patients with EAP.