The use of home remedies and complementary health approaches in endometriosis

Alexandra Sabrina Kohl Schwartz, Alexandra Kohl Schwartz, Schwartz ASK, Elvira Gross, Gross E, E Gross, Kirsten Geraedts, Geraedts K, Martina Rauchfuss, Rauchfuss M, Martina Rauchfuß, Wölfler MM, Monika Maria Wölfler, Monika Wölfler, Felix Häberlin, Häberlin F, Stephanie von Orelli, von Orelli S, Eberhard M, Markus Eberhard, Imesch P, Patrick Imesch, Bruno Imthurn, Imthurn B, Brigitte Leeners
Reproductive biomedicine online · 2018 · vol. 38(2) , pp. 260–271 · doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.10.009 · PMID:30612955 · W2903642327
article OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 23 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-07, 2026-07-10 ⓘ

This study found that 62.5% of endometriosis patients used complementary health approaches or home remedies, with higher usage among those with fatigue symptoms or dissatisfaction with conventional healthcare.

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Abstract

Research questionConventional treatments are often associated with adverse effects and endometriosis pain symptoms may reoccur despite treatment. Consequently, many women use complementary health approaches (CHA) and home remedies (HR) to relieve their pain. The aim of this study was to examine the frequency and the subjectively perceived efficacy of CHA/HR use by women affected by endometriosis.DesignRetrospective evaluation using medical charts and a questionnaire. Women recruited in hospitals and in self-help groups were asked about the use of 'topical heat', 'repose/relaxation', 'movement/massages', 'homeopathy/phytotherapy', 'acupuncture/traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)' and 'kinesiology/physiotherapy'.ResultsFrom a total of 574 women with a confirmed diagnosis of endometriosis, 359 (62.5%) applied some form of CHA/HR. Women suffering from fatiguing disease symptoms more often selected alternative therapies (odds ratio [OR] 3.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.39-7.11, P = 0.006) compared with women without these characteristics. Furthermore, women dissatisfied with healthcare provided by their treating physician, more frequently (OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.19-4.45, P = 0.013) chose the aforementioned alternative strategies.ConclusionAs conventional therapies may not be sufficiently effective, women's needs should be closely examined, and individual treatment options should be discussed and initiated by clinicians to provide the best comprehensive treatment possible for endometriosis.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Complementary Therapies Endometriosis Medicine, Traditional Physical Therapy Modalities Phytotherapy Adolescent Adult Cross-Sectional Studies Endometriosis Female Hot Temperature Hot Temperature Humans Massage Medicine, Chinese Traditional Middle Aged Retrospective Studies Surveys and Questionnaires Young Adult

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Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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