[Therapeutic education and alternative medicine]

OBJECTIVE: To review the most common Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) therapies described for chronic pelvic pain care and to analyze their results as reported in the literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Review of articles and consensus conferences published on this subject in the Medline (PubMed) database, selected according to their scientific relevance. RESULTS: Lifestyle interventions have a positive impact on patients' self-management of their chronic pain. Positive outcomes are associated with well-balanced diet, dietary changes and certain dietary supplementations for bladder pain syndrome and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Limited data exist supporting the use of acupuncture for chronic pelvic pain, endometriosis, bladder pain syndrome and urethral pain syndrome. There is no evidence for homeopathy and mesotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Published data on many CAM therapies suggest their potential as complementary treatment options of chronic pelvic pain. As conventional treatments, CAM therapies warrant further studies to assist in their validation as permanent treatment options for this patient population.