Adenomyosis

What Adenomyosis Is

Researchers describe adenomyosis as endometrial glands and stroma embedded within the myometrium, which can make the uterus enlarge, take on a rounded or globular shape, and feel tender or "boggy" on exam.^[1] How common it looks in the literature depends heavily on how it's diagnosed. A 2025 meta-analysis pooling imaging and pathology studies found rates of about 31% by ultrasound, 35% by MRI, and 35% in tissue examined after surgery, compared with roughly 1% in studies drawn from the general population rather than people already being evaluated for symptoms.^[4] Older literature reports an even wider range, from 5% to 70%, reflecting decades of inconsistent diagnostic criteria before imaging tools improved.^[1]

How It Differs From Endometriosis

Adenomyosis and endometriosis both involve endometrial-like tissue growing somewhere it doesn't normally belong, which is part of why the two get confused. The distinction is location and mechanism. Endometriosis is tissue implanted outside the uterus, on the ovaries, pelvic lining, or elsewhere, and the leading theory ties it to retrograde menstruation, tissue flowing backward through the fallopian tubes during a period. Adenomyosis stays inside the uterus and is instead linked to a breakdown of the junctional zone, the boundary layer between the endometrium and the myometrium, which lets endometrial tissue invade the muscle beneath it.^[3] The two conditions frequently coexist in the same person, and researchers are still working out how closely their underlying biology overlaps.^[3]

What People With Adenomyosis Commonly Track

Dysmenorrhea and heavy menstrual bleeding are described across the research as the most frequently reported symptoms associated with adenomyosis.^[1] One summary of the literature put heavy menstrual bleeding at 40% to 60% of people with imaging-confirmed adenomyosis, with dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain also common, though up to a third of people with adenomyosis visible on imaging report no symptoms at all.^[2]

Because of that pattern, people navigating heavy or painful cycles often keep a day-by-day record of heavy menstrual bleeding, cramps, and period flow, alongside where and when pelvic pain shows up across the cycle rather than just on period days. Bloating is another symptom commonly logged alongside these, since abdominal fullness tends to cluster around the same days as heavier flow and cramping.

How Go Go Gaia Supports Tracking It

Go Go Gaia logs period flow, cramps, and pelvic pain each with their own 1-click entry, timestamped and charted against your cycle day. Recording flow intensity, cramp severity, and pain location as separate entries, instead of one general note for a rough day, makes it easier to see how these symptoms line up with each other and with the rest of your cycle over weeks and months.

What the Research Shows

Imaging and pathology studies together put adenomyosis prevalence at roughly 31% to 35%, while population-based estimates not limited to symptomatic patients or surgical samples run far lower, around 1%, a gap that shows how heavily case-finding method shapes reported rates.^[4]

In one summary of the literature, heavy menstrual bleeding occurred in 40% to 60% of people with adenomyosis and dysmenorrhea in 15% to 30%, while chronic pelvic pain and pain with sex appeared less often.^[2]

About half of people with adenomyosis also have uterine fibroids, and roughly one in ten also have endometriosis, one measure of how often these conditions overlap in the same person.^[2] An infertility rate around 11% to 12% has also been reported among people with adenomyosis, though a causal link hasn't been established.^[1]

Related Terms

Frequently Asked Questions

Educational information based on published sources. Not medical advice. For personal concerns, please consult your doctor.

How is adenomyosis different from endometriosis?

Both conditions involve endometrial-like tissue growing outside its usual location, but the location and mechanism differ. Endometriosis is tissue implanted outside the uterus, most often tied to retrograde menstruation. Adenomyosis stays inside the uterus, where a breakdown of the junctional zone lets endometrial tissue invade the myometrium beneath it. The two conditions frequently occur in the same person.^[3]

How common is adenomyosis?

Reported prevalence varies enormously by how it's diagnosed. A 2025 meta-analysis found rates of roughly 31% to 35% across studies that used ultrasound, MRI, or tissue pathology, compared with about 1% in studies drawn from the general population rather than people already being evaluated for symptoms.^[4]

What symptoms are most often reported with adenomyosis?

Heavy menstrual bleeding and dysmenorrhea, painful cramping, are the two most frequently reported symptoms, though up to a third of people with adenomyosis visible on imaging report no symptoms at all.^[1][2]