Managing Primary Dysmenorrhea

Doty, Elizabeth; Attaran, Marjan

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2006.06.005

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Also, some evidence indicates that acupuncture is effective in treating primary dysmenorrhea [16][17][18][19][20][21], but that evidence was largely based on one small, randomized, M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 4 controlled trial (RCT). Two more recent sham acupuncture RCTs failed to show evidence of pain reduction [22,23].…”

Section: Background Of Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

As Acupressure Decreases Pain, Acupuncture May Improve Some Aspects of Quality of Life for Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Abaraogu

Tabansi-Ochuogu

2015

Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

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Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological symptom reported by women and constitutes a high health, social, and economic burden. Chemotherapies, along with their side effects, have not yielded satisfactory outcomes. Alternative nonpharmacological interventions, including acupuncture and acupressure, have been advocated, but evidence regarding their beneficial effect is inconclusive. This study sought to obtain evidence on the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupressure interventions. Twelve electronic databases were searched by using menstrual pain intensity and quality of life as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively, with the PEDro guideline for quality appraisal. Data unsuitable for a meta-analysis were reported as descriptive data. The search yielded 38 citations, from which eight studies were systematically reviewed, four of the eight being eligible for meta-analysis. The systematic review showed moderate methodological quality with a mean of 6.1 out of 10 on the PEDro quality scale. Acupressure showed evidence of pain relief while acupuncture improved both the mental and the physical components of quality of life. In conclusion, physiotherapists should consider using acupuncture and acupressure to treat primary dysmenorrhea, but a need exists for higher quality, randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trials with adequate sample sizes to establish clearly the effects of these modalities.

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Section: Background Of Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

As Acupressure Decreases Pain, Acupuncture May Improve Some Aspects of Quality of Life for Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Abaraogu

Tabansi-Ochuogu

2015

Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

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“…10 Numerous clinical reviews for the management of dysmenorrhoea have suggested some evidence that acupuncture is effective in its treatment. 1,[11][12][13][14][15] However, the effectiveness of acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhoea is not fully understood because these recommendations were based on only one small randomised controlled trial (RCT), 16 and two recent sham acupuncture RCTs have failed to show a significant difference. 17,18 Only three reviews of acupuncture for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea are currently available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhoea: a systematic review

Cho

2010

BJOG

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Background The effectiveness of acupuncture in primary dysmenorrhoea is not fully understood.Objectives To assess the effectiveness of acupuncture for the symptomatic treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea from randomised controlled trials (RCTs).Search strategy Nineteen electronic databases, including English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese databases, were systematically searched for RCTs investigating acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhoea up to July 2008 with no language restrictions.Selection criteria All RCTs that evaluated the effects of acupuncture compared with controls were included. Studies that assessed the effect of moxibustion or body acupressure were excluded.Data collection and analysis The study abstraction and quality assessment of all studies were undertaken following the detailed descriptions of these categories as described in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.Main results Twenty-seven RCTs were systematically reviewed. Only nine of the 27 trials clearly described their methods of randomisation and none of the trials stated the methods of allocation concealment. Compared with pharmacological treatment or herbal medicine, acupuncture was associated with a significant reduction in pain. Three studies reported reduced pain within groups from baseline; however, two RCTs did not find a significant difference between acupuncture and sham acupuncture.Author's conclusions The review found promising evidence in the form of RCTs for the use of acupuncture in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea compared with pharmacological treatment or herbal medicine. However, the results were limited by methodological flaws. The evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea is not convincing compared with sham acupuncture. Further rigorous nonpenetrating placebo-controlled RCTs are warranted.

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“…27 Primary dysmenorrhea can be classified as a kind of "paraphysiologic" pain in relation to the greater complexity of female reproductive function and hormonal balance. 28 According to traditional Chinese medicine, pain results from an obstruction of the energy flow, called Qi, in the body.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%