<p>Moxibustion for Patients with Primary Dysmenorrhea at Different Intervention Time Points: A Randomized Controlled Trial</p>

Abstract

To investigate the effectiveness of moxibustion at different times of the menstrual cycle for patients with primary dysmenorrhea (PD). Patients and Methods: Participants were 208 patients allocated to three controlled groups: one pre-menstrual treatment group (Group A), one menstrual-onset treatment group (Group B), and one waiting-list group (Group C). Groups A and B received the same intervention of moxibustion on points SP6 and RN4 but at different times. Group C, the waiting-list group, received no treatment throughout the study. Cox Menstrual Symptom Scale (CMSS) score was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were visual analog scale (VAS) score of pain intensity, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) score, and self-rating depression scale (SDS) score. CMSS and VAS scores were obtained at the baseline stage (three cycles), treatment stage (three cycles), and follow-up stage (three cycles), a total of seven evaluations. SAS and SDS scores were obtained on the day of group allocation and the first day of the follow-up stage, a total of two evaluations. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable across the three groups. Pain duration (CMSS score) was significantly higher in Group C than in the other two groups at each evaluation (P<0.001). There was also a significant difference in the improvement in pain duration between Group B and Group C (P<0.001) throughout the trial. There were no significant changes in pain severity (CMSS score) after the 3-month treatment in Group A and Group B (P>0.05). Secondary outcomes showed that pre-menstrual moxibustion (Group A) was as effective as menstrual-onset moxibustion (Group B) in relieving pain intensity (VAS score) and negative mood (SDS and SAS scores). Conclusion: Moxibustion appears as an effective treatment for PD. Pre-menstrual application is more effective than menstrual-onset application.

Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex–Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Circuit Underlies Electroacupuncture to Alleviate Hyperalgesia but Not Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Mice With Spared Nerve Injury

“…Acupuncture of the Zusanli acupoint can improve motor function and anxiety-like behavior in Parkinson’s disease mice models ( Jang et al, 2020 ). Moxibustion at the Sanyinjiao acupoint can improve pain and emotional disorders in patients with primary dysmenorrhea ( Liu et al, 2020 ). Our previous studies have shown that the combination of the Zusanli and Sanyinjiao acupoints is the dominant acupoint combination for the treatment of pain and depression comorbidity ( Wu et al, 2015 ).…”

Efficacy of Guizhi Fuling Wan for primary dysmenorrhea: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…The SAS and SDS are scoring tools for depression and anxiety disorders, respectively, and are widely used in clinical PD patients because of the emotional changes that often accompany PD. The SAS questionnaire for self-rated includes 20 items, and each is answered on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 (no time) to 4 (most of the time), with a total score of more than 40 indicating a clinically relevant anxiety disorder [ 32 ]. The higher the score, the more severe the anxiety.…”

Efficacy and Safety of Acupuncture and or Moxibustion for Managing Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Table 2 summarizes the 22 studies included in this review, and these studies comprised of 1,634 randomized PD participants, with 4 studies ( Sriprasert et al, 2015 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2019 ; Yang et al., 2017 ) published in English and 18 studies published in Chinese. The included trials were mainly conducted in China ( n = 21) and Thailand ( n = 1).…”

“…The included trials were mainly conducted in China ( n = 21) and Thailand ( n = 1). There were 17 studies ( Cai, 2012 ; Chen, 2013 ; Han et al, 2015 ; Jiang et al, 2020 ; Li, 2014 ; Lin, 2020 ; Liu, 2008 ; Luo, 2015 ; Peng, 2019 ; Tian, 2020 ; Wang, 2008 , 2016 ; Wang et al, 2019 ; Yang et al, 2017 ; Zhang, 2017 , 2019 ; Zhu, 2015 ) that measured pain with visual analogue scale (VAS), with no less than 4 cm as their inclusion criteria, while the other 5 ( Bu et al, 2011 ; Deng, 2019 ; Li, 2012 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Sriprasert et al, 2015 ) did not report the details of such inclusion criteria. The average participants age in these RCTs was 19 to 27 years.…”