‘trust Your Own Feeling’: Everton’s Katja Snoeijs On Her Endometriosis Diagnosis

When nan sharp, stabbing symptom successful her abdomen became truthful terrible that she had to beryllium substituted astatine half-time during an Everton match, Katja Snoeijs knew what she was experiencing was not simply “normal play pains”. And she was right.

The 29-year-old Netherlands striker has since been diagnosed pinch endometriosis, which affects 1 successful 10 women. She says she counts herself lucky, because she received her test wrong a twelvemonth and was shocked to study nan nationalist mean hold for a test successful nan UK is 9 years.

The information involves cells akin to those recovered successful nan lining of nan womb increasing elsewhere successful nan body, which tin lead to inflammation and chronic pain. This year, Snoeijs had keyhole room to dainty it and, having recovered to resume afloat training earlier Saturday’s Merseyside derby pinch Liverpool successful nan WSL, has decided to unfastened up astir her experiences successful nan dream of encouraging much women to activity help.

Snoeijs, who has played for Everton since 2022, said exclusively to nan Guardian and recalled being incapable to guidelines up consecutive during a lucifer erstwhile her symptoms came connected strongly. “Probably since I was a teenager, I had symptoms astir my period, but backmost past I was like: ‘Oh, it’s normal play pain,’” she says. “But successful nan past 2 years, it would besides effect maine connected nan shot pitch. There was 1 nationalist squad convention wherever mid-session, I couldn’t run, I was successful truthful overmuch pain. I felt for illustration I had to propulsion up and I had to time off nan session. But moreover then, it was truthful difficult to admit thing was not right.

“Then present astatine Everton, location was a crippled past play wherever I sewage my play and I tried to push through. I was starting that game, but stepping out, I couldn’t guidelines up straight, truthful I took a batch of symptom medication. But astatine half-time, I had to beryllium subbed disconnected because of nan pain. That was nan infinitesimal wherever I was like: ‘I request to do thing astir it.’

Everton’s Katja Snoeijs celebrates aft scoring against Liverpool successful nan WSL successful November 2024. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA

“It’s a small spot difficult to predict. Whenever it’s there, it goes from zero to a hundred. It’s for illustration a very crisp stabbing symptom successful your abs. As an athlete, it’s ever difficult to admit erstwhile you consciousness something. It’s earthy to ‘push through’. In your caput you’re thinking: ‘Oh I tin still do something’ but you’re only making it worse for your body. I didn’t want to beryllium weak, truthful I wanted to effort to push through, thief nan squad [but I couldn’t] physically tally immoderate more.”

The worst acquisition she had distant from nan transportation came this Christmas. “Suddenly I could consciousness nan cramps, thing was wrong,” she says. “The adjacent 3 days I had to conscionable laic successful furniture because I was successful truthful overmuch pain. A batch of women either get told it’s ‘normal play pain’ aliases you deliberation it yourself. But we each cognize it’s not normal to laic successful your furniture for 3 days because of play pain.”

March is Endometriosis Action Month and Snoeijs says since first penning astir her information successful a station connected societal media 2 weeks ago, it has prompted more, adjuvant conversations moreover wrong nan Everton dressing room: “Everyone has been really bully and supportive. In our changing room, it opened up conversations astir play symptom and I cognize location are different teammates arsenic good that person been struggling. It’s helping america to understand each different better.”

Last season, Snoeijs sought thief via nan nine expert and backstage gynecologists, and aft 1 gynecologist initially appeared unconcerned by her symptoms, a 2nd sentiment led to her having an MRI that indicated her endometriosis, and she was recommended to acquisition a laparoscopy. But having nan room was a tricky decision, successful nan mediate of her career. She said: “I had this chat pinch nan squad expert and he said: ‘Whatever you want to do, we’ll support you successful it.’ We went done different scenarios and decided that it would beryllium champion to do it arsenic quickly arsenic possible.

“It went really well. They recovered a small spot much endometriosis than expected, but they were capable to pain arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable away. Initially I conscionable needed to retrieve from nan wide surgery, nan anesthesia, and conscionable nan scars. But erstwhile that settled down a small bit, my betterment went really smoothly.”

Katja Snoeijs (No 15) looks dejected on pinch her Netherlands teammates aft conclusion to England astatine Euro 2025. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

It took astir a twelvemonth to spot her diagnosed – astir women hold astatine slightest 9 times longer. “It’s really crazy that it takes truthful agelong to get nan correct diagnosis,” she says. “Hopefully conscionable talking astir it much will thief women to understand that their symptoms are not normal and promote them to spell to nan GP.”

Emma Cox, nan main executive of Endometriosis UK, told nan Guardian: “We’re incredibly grateful and thankful for Katya for speaking out. To person personification of her calibre talk astir a illness for illustration endometriosis really makes a quality to people. For elite sports people, endometriosis tin beryllium really challenging, because, of course, you can’t alteration nan fixture day aliases nan dates of a nationalist tournament.

“Whilst play symptom is normal, if that is interfering pinch your day-to-day life, we’d opportunity spell and activity thief from a expert and nan communal symptoms are pelvic pain, dense play pains, dense menstrual bleeding, achy bowel movements, symptom erstwhile urinating, symptom during aliases aft sex, trouble getting pregnant, and fatigue erstwhile you’ve sewage 1 aliases much of nan different achy symptoms.”

Snoeijs has shown resilience to flooded aesculapian hurdles passim her life and career. Born pinch a spread successful her bosom and increasing up pinch 1 limb longer than nan other, her early life was not easy, seeing her spell done respective awesome surgeries arsenic a child.

“It makes maine proud to deliberation what I was capable to scope pinch those benignant of challenges,” she says. “And hopefully that will conscionable motivate group that spell done nan same.”

After recovering from her latest surgery, she is now focusing connected Saturday’s showdown pinch Liverpool astatine Goodison Park. Their rivals sewage nan amended of them successful their astir caller meeting, successful nan FA Cup. “We’re each really motivated. [After] nan past derby, nan FA Cup game, we each consciousness for illustration that was not our champion crippled and that we person thing to group right. And nan derby is ever special.”

There is simply a bigger nationalist wellness attraction connected her mind, though, arsenic she concludes pinch a passionate connection to immoderate women who deliberation they mightiness person endometriosis: “Trust your ain emotion and your ain body. We arsenic women are really bully astatine knowing ourselves. Try to beryllium assured and don’t fto yourself beryllium pushed distant if you consciousness for illustration you’re not being heard aliases not getting nan correct treatment. Even pinch a information for illustration this, it doesn’t request to effect your athletics career. You tin still play astatine nan highest level.”