Department of Health and Exercise, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway.
BMC Womens Health. 2024 Sep 12;24(1):505. doi: 10.1186/s12905-024-03356-w.
The potential benefit of exercise in alleviating symptoms of endometriosis is unclear. Still, exercise may be used to empower women and manage disease symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore how regular supervised group- and individual exercise training, including pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), is experienced among women with endometriosis after participating in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Among 41 women randomized to exercise training for four months, ten women were interviewed about their experiences with exercise training after participation in the trial. The weekly group training was led by women's health physiotherapists and included individualized and progressive muscular strength training of large muscle groups and the pelvic floor muscles, in addition to endurance-, flexibility, and relaxation training. An individual training program followed the same principles as the group training and was to be performed 3-5 times per week, depending on the level of intensity. PFMT was recommended daily. The women also received a group pain management course emphasizing exercise training as self-management. Using inductive reflexive thematic analysis, responses to the question "Did participation in the study change your view of exercise as part of the treatment for endometriosis?" were analyzed.
The women brought forward the importance of knowledge about the benefits of exercise to make informed decisions in disease management. Further, the women described how exercise training was perceived as less frightening and manageable when exposed to various intensities, dosages, and types of exercises in a safe and supportive environment. PFMT was especially brought forward as something new and appreciated, and for some of the women, to be performed on days when their bodies could not handle the general exercise training. They also expressed that the supervised exercise brought an extra dimension of belonging through group participation.
Individualization and regular supervision seem important to empower women with knowledge about exercise training as self-management and to experience exercise training as safe and non-threatening. Further, creating a sense of belonging through group training may improve social support and build active coping strategies that are essential for disease management of endometriosis.
NCT05091268 (registered 23.09.2021).
运动缓解子宫内膜异位症症状的潜在益处尚不清楚。尽管如此，运动仍可用于增强女性力量并控制疾病症状。本研究旨在探讨在参加随机对照试验（RCT）后，经常接受监督的小组和个体运动训练（包括骨盆底肌肉训练 [PFMT]）如何被子宫内膜异位症女性所体验。
在 41 名被随机分配到为期四个月的运动训练的女性中，有 10 名女性在参加试验后接受了关于运动训练体验的访谈。每周的小组训练由女性健康物理治疗师带领，包括个体化和渐进式的大肌肉群和骨盆底肌肉力量训练，以及耐力、柔韧性和放松训练。个体训练计划遵循与小组训练相同的原则，根据强度水平每周进行 3-5 次。建议每天进行 PFMT。女性还参加了一个强调运动训练作为自我管理的团体疼痛管理课程。使用归纳反思性主题分析，对“参与研究是否改变了您对运动作为子宫内膜异位症治疗一部分的看法？”这一问题的回答进行了分析。
女性提出了了解运动益处的重要性，以便在疾病管理中做出明智的决策。此外，女性描述了在安全和支持性环境中暴露于各种强度、剂量和类型的运动时，如何将运动训练视为不那么可怕和易于管理的。PFMT 尤其被提出是一种新的且令人欣赏的方法，对于一些女性来说，在身体无法承受一般运动训练的日子里，可以进行 PFMT。她们还表示，监督下的运动通过团体参与带来了额外的归属感。
个体化和定期监督似乎对于赋予女性关于运动训练作为自我管理的知识以及体验安全且无威胁的运动训练很重要。此外，通过团体训练营造归属感可以提高社会支持，并建立积极的应对策略，这对于子宫内膜异位症的疾病管理至关重要。
NCT05091268（2021 年 9 月 23 日注册）。
