1. Introduction
Endometriosis, endometriosis, pelvic pain, acute pain, pain, chronic disease
ENDOMETRIOSIS, ENDOMETRIOSIS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, CAVITY, CHRONIC DISEASE
Background: Endometriosis is a debilitating chronic condition that is commonly associated with chronic pelvic pain, affecting approximately 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. The general principle of pain management in this population involves both pharmacological and surgical interventions. There is also increasing interest in the use of exercise as an alternative non-pharmacological analgesic, but adherence and accessibility to face-to-face exercise-delivery modalities are poor. This study aims to determine the immediate impact of a single session of ‘supervised’ telehealth-delivered exercise compared to ‘self-managed’ virtual reality (VR)-delivered exercise on pelvic pain associated with endometriosis. Methods: Twenty-two women experiencing pelvic pain due to endometriosis were included and randomized into three groups: (i) VR-delivered exercise group (n = 8); (ii) telehealth-delivered exercise group (n = 8); and (iii) control group (n = 6). The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the severity of pelvic pain. Results: There was no statistically significant between-group difference (Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent chronic inflammatory disease that denotes the growth of abnormal endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterine cavity [Endometriosis is considered a chronic disease that requires a lifelong management plan [There is a growing interest in exploring different exercise-delivery modalities in the treatment of acute pain. Specifically, the use of telehealth has been demonstrated to be as effective in delivering exercise interventions as face-to-face modalities in improving pain, physical activity (PA) levels, activities of daily living, and quality of life [While the long-term pain-relieving effects of these digital health tools on global pain have been documented extensively [The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate impact of a single session of supervised telehealth-delivered exercise versus self-managed VR-delivered exercise on pelvic pain in women with endometriosis. We hypothesized that a single session of a self-managed VR-delivered exercise intervention would be as efficacious as the telehealth-delivered exercise bout in reducing pelvic pain in women with endometriosis.