27/05/2025
Did you know?
The word "endometriosis" is less than 100 years old.
In 1927, American gynecologist John A. Sampson first coined the term to name a disease women have silently endured for centuries. Suffering from symptoms like severe pelvic pain, uterine distress, and chronic inflammation has been recorded throughout history, misunderstood, stigmatised, and often ignored.
It's Greek roots
endo = inside
metra = uterus
osis = condition or disease
For more than 4,000 years, evidence of endometriosis has appeared in ancient texts and illustrations, revealing glimpses of pain long dismissed and crucified.
📜 Claudius Galen of Pergamon (129–216 ACE), a Roman physician of Greek heritage, described a gynecologic disorder that produced violent and painful uterine contractions and swollen and inflamed ligaments.
📜 The reintroduction of supernatural disease etiologies in Western medicine occurred most dramatically during the Middle Ages, when pandemics like the plague wiped out an estimated 30% to 60% of Europe's population. It was during this time that uterine suffocation began to be misconstrued as the work of witchcraft or demonic possession.
📜 Experts on medieval medicine describe this late 13th-century image from a medical textbook as depicting uterine suffocation, a disease profile similar to endometriosis.
📜 Engraving from 1642 representing folkloric conceptions of women's illness, including hysteria and other disorders that may have been endometriosis or other gynecologic conditions.
Many women still spend hours searching online for answers, seeking care, knowledge, validation and relief.
🔸 On average, individuals with endometriosis wait 7 to 10 years for a diagnosis.
🔸 Teens reporting symptoms are told it is "just bad periods."
🔸 Adults are dismissed, misdiagnosed, or gaslit.
I want to stay positive and acknowledge that change is occurring.
We are luckier in this lifetime to live in a time when technology is catching up to women's pain:
🔬 Advanced imaging like MRI and 3D ultrasound, is helping detect signs earlier.
🧬 Research into blood biomarkers is opening the door to less invasive diagnostics.
💊 Treatments are becoming more targeted
Alongside medical advances, Naturopathic care can complement treatment with holistic, patient-centred support:
🍒Nutrition & gut health: Anti-inflammatory diets rich in omega-3s, colourful phytonutrients, and gut-supporting probiotics can help modulate systemic inflammation.
🌾Herbs and supplements: Turmeric (curcumin), ginger, vitex (Vitex agnus-castus), and magnesium & PEA often ease cramps and help hormonal imbalances.
Early intervention, especially for teens, can reduce long-term damage and radically improve quality of life. Exciting times are ahead with a recent $50 million philanthropic gift that is launching the world's first Endometriosis Research Centre at the University of NSW, positioning Australia as a global leader in women's health.
Here is hoping the next 100 years look nothing like the last.
References
University of New South Wales. (2025, May 26). Landmark donation powers world-first endometriosis research institute at UNSW. https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2025/05/Landmark-donation-powers-world-first-endometriosis-research-institute-at-UNSW
Bulun, S. E. (2013). Endometriosis. In Endometriosis: Pathophysiology and clinical management (pp. 1-24). Fertility and Sterility. https://www.fertstert.org/article/s0015-0282(12)01955-3/fulltext
Missmer, S. A., & Giudice, L. C. (2019). Endometriosis: Etiology, pathobiology, and clinical management. In Endometriosis (pp. 1-24). National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567777/
