Grant: Op. Grant: NWHRI: Innovation Fund - Translational Research

The goal of this research project is to reduce or eliminate pain in the over 1 million Canadians who have a diagnosis of endometriosis and the new 500K cases diagnosed each year. Pain is a predominant symptom of endometriosis, and this pain often persists even after endometriosis lesions have been reduced or surgically removed. Current interventions for endometriosis-associated pain (EAP) are insufficient. Approximately half of patients operated for endometriosis continue to deal with poorly managed pain for years afterwards. There is currently no effective intervention for persistent pain among those with endometriosis. Yet a recent feasibility study suggested that a novel therapy, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may be effective. Through a clinical trial, we aim to provide high quality evidence on the effectiveness of rTMS on pain reduction among those suffering from pain as a result of endometriosis. Our proposed clinical research will evaluate the effectiveness of rTMS on pain reduction for women and gender diverse individuals with endometriosis, and will determine whether a long (10 session) intervention is more effective than a short (5 session) intervention. Further, we will investigate whether there are physical, psychological or social factors that influence the effectiveness of the rTMS intervention, and patient interviews will help us to gain insights into the patient experience with this intervention. Our team includes international experts in pelvic pain assessment and conservative management, pain psychophysiology, the medical and surgical management of endometriosis, transcranial magnetic stimulation, biostatistics, and patient partners with lived experience of endometriosis. We are ideally situated to undertake this trial and to ensure that the findings are translated to practice outside of the laboratory.