12. Discussion and conclusion
Endometriosis is a common cause of pelvic pain in women and the pain is often incapacitating. Endometriosis pain can have different causes such as inflammatory, neuropathic and functional and may thus be triggered by different mechanisms. Many of the current medical treatments for it include oral drugs like non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, opioids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, contraceptives, progestogens, androgenic agents, gonadotrophin releasing hormone analogues, as well as laparoscopic surgical excision of the endometriosis lesions. In many patients these treatments are insufficient or associated with sideeffects. Three studies have described the application of different needle stimulation techniques (acupuncture) and the results suggest that acupuncture may be a valuable treatment option to some