Endometriosis – could it be the link to your back pain?

The Waterside Practice’s Osteopath Georgina Joss draws on her clinical experience to explore how endometriosis-type symptoms can present, how to distinguish them from normal cyclical pain, and why they may be linked to back pain.

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is where tissue that lines the uterus (endometrial tissue) also grows in other areas it shouldn’t, more often being around the pelvis, ovaries, bowel or bladder. In rare cases, it can even extend outside the pelvis. What does this really mean though?

The endometrial tissue is what thickens and sheds during each cycle, so when the tissue is growing in other areas but can’t always leave the body like it does in the uterus, it may cause pain and discomfort. Sometimes, over time, due to the chronic inflammation, this can cause the body to form bands of scar tissue in those areas. This scar tissue can bind abdominal tissue and organs together; this is called adhesions.

With this in mind, you can start to understand the cause of other symptoms. These include pain during sex or when going to the toilet, bleeding in between periods, and irregular or heavy periods. For some, it can make sense of cyclical back or hip pain.

How it can be linked to back pain

Some perfectly healthy periods can cause cramp or aching pains in the lower belly or back, and sometimes it can exacerbate pre-existing back pain. This can simply be from the inflammation building up during, or in the lead up to, menstruation.

Sometimes, within your appointment, we may have thoughts, either during the consultation or physical examination, that take us down a line of questioning, what we can call ‘screening’ or ‘triaging’. This is to help us differentiate between a musculoskeletal injury or something like endometriosis. While some questions can feel a little uncomfortable, just know it’s all for good reason. Ensuring your good health is our main priority and, even if we can’t directly help with some diagnoses, we can help give guidance on what the next steps will be.

Management & next steps

If you experience back or period pain, it’s worth trying some easy remedies. Firstly, heat, like a hot water bottle, can really soothe. Painkillers can be taken where necessary, but the bottom line is that periods should not be debilitating. While cramps and aches can be, unfortunately, normal, cyclical suffering is not. If you are having to take pain medication regularly to manage during menstruation, or if painkillers don’t help, it’s time to get it checked. Other causes for very similar symptoms can include fibroids, pelvic inflammatory disease, dysmenorrhoea and adenomyosis, all of which are worth getting checked out.

Osteopathy isn’t just the hands-on treatment part, it’s the triaging, diagnosing, explaining and advising. So even if we can’t cure a disease, we can still aid the body in so many other ways, including treatment to help manage symptoms. So, if you were wondering whether osteopathy is the right therapy for you, I hope this blog has helped reassure you of the answer.

For any further questions you may have about cyclical or endometriosis symptoms in relation to back pain, get in touch with us to discuss further with a free consult call https://thewatersidepractice.janeapp.co.uk/#/discipline/1/treatment/96 or contact reception on 01487 209 084.