Ten thousand steps and more. The benefits of physical activity no longer need to be demonstrated for chronic diseases, and now for endometriosis, a disease that affects between 1.5 and 2.5 million women of childbearing age, i.e. one in ten women in France. Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial cells, the mucous membrane that lines the uterus, which migrate abnormally during menstruation, proliferate and can penetrate tissues and organs, causing lesions, cysts, etc. pain, the first symptoms, is often debilitating and responsible for fatigue, depression or anxiety. Still largely taboo, this disease is often diagnosed years later.
Researcher Géraldine Escriva-Boulley, head of the staps sector at the Interuniversity Laboratory for Education and Communication Sciences (Lisec), at the University of Haute-Alsace, assumed that physical activity could be beneficial for children. women affected by this disease from which she also suffers. Operated after her thesis, she had to greatly reduce her physical activity.
In this context, Géraldine Escriva-Boulley launched a study, called Crescendo (“increasing physical exercise and sport to combat endometriosis”), with two hundred women, divided into four groups, currently being recruited.
One group follows an adapted physical activity program (APA) by videoconference with twenty-four stretching sessions (Pilates, yoga, etc.), eight gentle strengthening sessions and eight light to moderate cardio activity sessions. Another group participates in educational workshops that are similar to therapeutic patient education (TPE) on perceived pain, quality of life, diet and physical activity. The third combines APAs and workshops. Finally, the control group receives a brochure explaining the benefits of physical activity on endometriosis and its symptoms, as well as a QR code showing movements that help soothe pain.
“Immediate effects on pain”
“The hypothesis is that the program, which combines adapted physical activity and TPE, could complement current treatments for endometriosis and reduce pain, improve quality of life, with beneficial effects on the physical, psychological and social health of patients as well as physiological factors”, explains Géraldine Escriva-Boulley. She had previously conducted a focus group interview survey with thirty-seven women and a pilot study with seven women, recruited from the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon, who had followed a physical activity program.
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