Evidence mapPaperPMID 41743446Full record

ReviewJournal of pain research2026

Comparative Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Pain and Quality of Life in Women with Endometriosis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Xiaojun Zheng, Yu Wang, Haiping Li, Juncha Zhang, Jun Liu, Xihui Zheng, Jie Zhang, Guangya Fan, Yi Sun, Bingxian Li and 4 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Xiaojun Zheng *College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0005-7253-2019
Yu Wang *College of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Haiping LiCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0001-5103-5033
Juncha ZhangCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Jun LiuCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Xihui ZhengCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Jie ZhangCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0009-1445-5907
Guangya FanCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Yi SunCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Bingxian LiCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0009-0001-6652-8989
Jingyi JiaoCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Guang ZuoCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Xisheng FanCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.
Yanfen SheCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Tuina, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disorder characterized by pain and impaired quality of life (QoL). While pharmacological and surgical options exist, their limitations necessitate complementary strategies. The comparative effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions remains uncertain. Objective: This network meta-analysis (NMA) aimed to evaluate and rank the efficacy of non-pharmacological therapies for pain and QoL in women with endometriosis. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, and CNKI from inception to August 31, 2025. Eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs) compared structured non-pharmacological interventions-acupuncture (ACU), exercise (EXE), nutritional supplementation (NUT), physical therapy (PHY), or psychological interventions (PSY)-against conventional care (CON). Primary outcomes were pain (overall, pelvic, dysmenorrhea) and QoL; the secondary outcome was anxiety. Results: Thirty-three RCTs involving 2323 women were included. For overall pain, PHY (SMD = -1.44), ACU (SMD = -1.27), and PSY (SMD = -1.22) were significantly superior to CON, with PHY ranking highest (SUCRA = 74.4%). ACU was most effective for pelvic pain (SMD = -4.53; SUCRA = 99.1%), while PHY was optimal for dysmenorrhea (SMD = -1.30; SUCRA = 82.3%). Both ACU (SMD = 4.09) and PHY (SMD = 4.18) significantly improved QoL compared to CON. No statistically significant differences were observed among interventions for anxiety. Conclusion: Non-pharmacological interventions, particularly PHY and ACU, provide significant benefits for pain and QoL in endometriosis, with subtype-specific advantages. These findings support their integration into multimodal management pathways.

Indexed as

endometriosisnetwork meta-analysisnon-pharmacological interventionspain managementquality of liferandomized controlled trials

Identifiers

PMID41743446
PMCPMC12931397

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.