Pain comes back in up to half of cases. This trial tries something other than more surgery
What happened
A UK-wide trial is to test a new pain management programme for endometriosis. The University of Aberdeen announced it on 30 September 2026, with wider coverage following in the first week of October. The study is led by the University of Aberdeen in partnership with NHS Grampian, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research through its Health Technology Assessment Programme. The award reference is NIHR169738. The funding figure is given as £2.4 million in the award and the university's headline. One version of the university's own summary says £2.3 million, and some news reports repeat that lower number. The difference has not been explained. The programme being tested is called the endometriosis-specific Pain Management Programme, shortened to e-PMP. It runs for 12 weeks and is delivered remotely, which means online rather than in a clinic. It brings five things together: - psychotherapy informed by cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - specialist physiotherapy - advice on relationships, intimacy and communication - guidance on self-compassion - support to get medication right and reduce side effects The trial runs for five years. Women will be referred by their specialist. One group gets the programme alongside standard care. The other gets standard care alone. The two are then compared. It is aimed at premenopausal women whose chronic pelvic pain has carried on despite previous surgery or medication. Dr Lucky Saraswat, consultant gynaecologist and lead for the Aberdeen Endometriosis Centre, leads the study. Dr Chris Seenan, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the University of Stirling, helped develop the programme and sits on the trial management group.
Why this matters
Endometriosis affects about one in ten women. That makes it roughly as common as asthma. It happens when tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places. It causes persistent pelvic pain and chronic tiredness. It can affect work, relationships and plans to have children. There is no cure. The treatments that exist are surgery and hormonal medication. Both help many women. Neither reliably lasts. That is the number at the heart of this trial: pain returns in up to 50% of cases within five years of surgery. For a woman in that half, the options have often narrowed to repeating a surgery that worked for a while, or going back on hormonal treatment she may not want - for example if she is planning a pregnancy. Professor Anthony Gordon, Director of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme, said the trial is essential for developing treatments that address the full impact of the condition. Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, welcomed the research and said she looks forward to working with the team.
What the evidence actually says
This is a trial. That word matters. It is being run because nobody yet knows whether this programme works. If the answer were already known, there would be no need to spend five years finding out. So the honest position today is: promising, unproven, being properly tested. What makes the design credible is the comparison group. Chronic pain is one of the areas where people often feel better simply because something is being done for them. The only way to tell a real effect from that is to compare against standard care, which is what this trial does. The trial also measures cost-effectiveness, not just whether women feel better. That sounds dry, but it is the part that decides whether the NHS could actually offer this. Results may feed into future NICE guidelines and those of ESHRE, the European society for human reproduction and embryology. Two caveats worth naming. The number of participants has not been published in the university's announcement. And five years is a long time - which means this is not something that will be available soon, whatever the result. What is already well established, and is not in doubt, is that pain management programmes of this general type help people with other long-term pain conditions. This trial asks whether a version built specifically around endometriosis helps too.
Qurexa perspective
One of the five parts of this programme is "support to optimise medication and lower side effects". That is a pharmacy job as much as a hospital one. We deliver prescriptions across Lincolnshire, and long-term pain is one of the situations where the practical details matter most: not running out mid-month, having the right dose at the right time of day, and knowing who to ask when a medicine makes you feel worse rather than better. If you live with endometriosis and your repeat prescription is one more thing to remember on a bad week, your pharmacist can usually set it up to arrive without you chasing it. And if a painkiller is not working, or is upsetting your stomach, that is worth a conversation - pharmacists can advise, and can flag it to your GP.
Practical advice
If you think you might have endometriosis, the useful thing you can do is keep a record. For two or three months, note: - when the pain happens, and where it is - how bad it is, out of ten - whether it links to your period, sex, going to the toilet, or nothing obvious - how tired you are - any days you had to miss work, school or plans Take that to your GP. A written pattern is much harder to dismiss than "it hurts sometimes", and it gives a doctor something to work with. Endometriosis takes a long time to diagnose for many women. If you feel you are not being heard, you are allowed to ask for a second opinion, and you are allowed to ask for a referral to a gynaecologist. Endometriosis UK runs a free helpline and local support groups. Many women say talking to someone who already understands the condition was the first thing that helped. If your pain is already being treated and it is still not controlled, ask your specialist two questions: whether a pain management programme is available to you locally, and whether there are any trials you could join. And see a doctor urgently if pain is sudden and severe, or comes with a fever, heavy bleeding, fainting, or being unable to pass urine.
What to know
The University of Aberdeen, with NHS Grampian, is leading a five-year UK-wide trial of a 12-week remote pain management programme designed specifically for endometriosis, known as e-PMP. It was announced on 30 September 2026, with national coverage in early October, and is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research's Health Technology Assessment Programme under award NIHR169738. The figure is given as £2.4 million, though one summary says £2.3 million. The programme combines CBT-informed psychotherapy, specialist physiotherapy, advice on relationships and communication, self-compassion guidance, and support to get medication right. Participants are premenopausal women whose pelvic pain persists despite surgery or medication, referred by their specialist. One group receives the programme plus standard care; the other receives standard care alone. Endometriosis affects about one in ten women, has no cure, and pain returns in up to 50% of cases within five years of surgery. The trial will also assess cost-effectiveness, which may inform future NICE and ESHRE guidelines. This is a trial, not an available treatment. The result is years away, and the number of participants has not been published. Sources: University of Aberdeen, "University of Aberdeen awarded £2.4 million to lead national trial for endometriosis treatment", 30 September 2026, https://www.abdn.ac.uk/news/26202/ ; University of Stirling, "University of Stirling lends expertise to a national trial for endometriosis treatment", October 2026, https://www.stir.ac.uk/news/2026/october-2026-news/university-of-stirling-lends-expertise-to-a-national-trial-for-endometriosis-treatment/ ; Clinical Services Journal, "New £2.4m trial to test endometriosis pain management programme", October 2026, https://www.clinicalservicesjournal.com/story/52776/new-2-4m-trial-to-test-endometriosis-pain-management-programme This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional.
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