Pain is one of the most common Endometriosis symptoms. Not all of my clients experience pain, and for those that do experience it, it is not always the most problematic symptom.

But for many women with Endometriosis it is pain that dictates their life. That causes them to miss events with friends and family; take time off from work; or cancel holidays.

There are different types of pain

Not all Endometriosis pain is the same. You can have acute pain, for example when you try to go to toilet and the bowel movement causes pain that disappears when you are done. You can also have chronic pain, for example chronic pelvic pain.

The location of pain can also be different. You may feel your pain in areas where you have endometriosis, although this doesn’t have to be the case. Some of the more common locations for pain are in your pelvic area, or on your bowel. But you can also have pain in your back, in your legs or when you breathe.

And the sensation of the pain, how it feels, can be different. Some possible ways to describe pain are stabbing, throbbing, cutting, tearing, burning, radiating, cramping, shooting, sharp or dull.

The potential causes of Endometriosis pain

There are a number of causes for Endometriosis pain, and you may have one or more of these underpinning your pain.

• A major cause for pain is lesions or endometriosis tissue on organs and tissues, interfering with the functioning of that organ. For example, if you have Endometriosis on your bowel it can interfere with the bowel’s peristaltic movements, causing pain. Or if you have Endometriosis on the outside of your uterus, you can feel pain when your uterus contracts during your period.
• Your Endometriosis may cause adhesions, where parts of an organ or tissue is stuck to something else.
• Scar tissue, either because you’ve had surgery to remove Endometriosis, or where Endometriosis has been on an organ or tissue.
• Chronic inflammation underpins your Endometriosis, and this inflammation also affects the nerve endings that detect damage and send pain signals to the brain.
• Nerves have a pain memory, which means that even if there is no longer an objective cause for your pain, the nerves may still send pain messages to your brain.
• Apprehension and anticipation of pain can also increase the pain sensation. If you expect pain, you’re likely to tense up which may worsen it.
• Your emotional state can also affect how you experience your Endometriosis pain. If you feel relaxed or happy, it may feel less intense than when you are stressed or worried.

Strategies for reducing your Endometriosis pain

Unfortunately, pain is one of the more difficult symptoms to get on top of with nutrition. This doesn’t mean you won’t see an improvement when you start eating differently, but it will take longer to achieve a big change and the change will be more gradual.

The main strategies for reducing your pain are:

1. Reduce your chronic inflammation. I always start the process by working out what foods a client is intolerant to. We then remove those foods as well as known inflammatory foods such as alcohol, sugar, caffeine, and processed foods from the diet.
2. There is a supplement that can help you reduce your pain faster. It’s called palmitoylethanolamide (or PEA), which is not a pain killer, but a powerful anti-inflammatory that is able to heal the nerves. If you’d like to learn more about PEA, here is an article I wrote about it.
3. See a physiotherapist, in particular a pelvic physiotherapist, to teach you techniques and exercises that help to reduce your Endometriosis pain.
4. Meditation is a very powerful tool to manage pain. In my podcast “The Endometriosis Nutritionist Podcast” I interview Sam Murray a meditation teacher, who has Endometriosis herself and uses meditation to manage her pain. If you’d like to find out more, listen to Episode 14.

If pain is a key Endometriosis symptom for you that is holding you back from participating fully in life, nutrition and changing your diet can definitely help you get your life back.

If you are at all concerned about your Endometriosis and your pain and would like to find out what your options are for managing both, why not book a free 30-minute Endometriosis SOS Call: https://theendometriosisnutritionist.online/endometriosis-sos-call/. In a video call we can discuss your Endometriosis journey and what you are hoping to achieve through nutrition. I will share with you what I do and how I work, so you can decide whether that is the right approach for you.