Acupuncture Treatment for Endometriosis-Related Pelvic Pain: A Systematic Literature Review

Objective: Endometriosis is a multifactorial chronic gynecological disease that can lead to symptoms of pelvic pain. This systematic review assesses acupuncture as an effective treatment for endometriosis-induced pelvic pain. Methods: Full-text articles related to the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of endometriosis-induced pain from 2003 to 2018 were searched, using the key words “endometriosis, pain, and acupuncture” in the databases that included PubMed, EBSCO, China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Results: This systematic review includes 11 studies, which involves a total of 776 patients diagnosed with endometriosis. These studies differed regarding research design, outcome variable, acupoint selection, and needle stimulation technique, which were classified for discussion based on the type of intervention in the control group. The results suggest that acupuncture is effective in relieving pain relating to endometriosis. Within-group effects are also in accordance with this indication. Discussion: A narrative analysis of the included studies was conducted since it is not appropriate to perform a meta-analysis, considering the significant heterogeneity among the studies. Limitations include the relatively small number of studies included as well as the clinical and methodological diversity of those studies. Conclusion: Endometriosis often leads to pelvic pain and current treatments may not be sufficiently effective or involves unpleasant side effects. According to the studies reviewed in this paper, acupuncture shows effectiveness, safety and fewer side effects than pharmacological treatments. It may therefore be used as a complementary therapy for endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Studies should be done that evaluate the efficacy of different approaches to acupuncture treatment as well as comparisons between different specific acupuncture treatment approaches.