Effect of stretching exercises on menstrual pain among adolescent girls

Abstract

Background: Pain is an unpleasant, intense feeling. During menstruation, contraction of the uterus to expel the built-up lining. Prostaglandin hormone is responsible for the muscle contraction in the uterus, which causes press against the blood vessels around it. It leads to a cut-off oxygen supply to muscle tissue, which triggers pain. One of the treatments for primary dysmenorrhoea is regular exercise and relaxation techniques. Stretching exercises help to relieve pain by reducing stress, improving flexibility, and strengthening the muscle. This study aims to find out the effect of stretching exercises on menstrual pain among adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional evaluative study was conducted among the adolescent girls of Selected schools in Navi Mumbai, India from October 2021 to February 2022 to analyze the relationship between stretching exercises and menstrual pain among adolescent girls. A numerical pain scale and a modified women’s health questionnaire were used to collect data from 100 adolescent girls. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select adolescent girls. Statistical Analysis: SPSS 24.0, software was used to tabulate and analyze the data. Results: This study result shows that a maximum of girls from age of 15–17 years (48%). A total of 82% of girls experienced menstrual pain. After doing stretching exercises, girls reduced their total pretest mean score from 2.65 to 1.99 post-test mean score. Posttest menstrual symptoms were reduced than the pretest menstrual symptoms after 8 weeks of intervention, so it was proven that stretching exercises helped in reducing menstrual pain and coping with problems.(‘p-value was <0.0001. Conclusion: Menstrual pain was a common problem among adolescent girls in schools of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Dysmenorrhea adversely affects school attendance in adolescents. Regular daily exercises were can help to reduce menstrual pain among adolescent girls.