Ultrasound Assessment of the Abdominal Wall Muscles in Women with and without Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is one of the most common gynecological disorders in women of reproductive age that may affect quality of life. It is believed that the underlying cause of PD may be the excessive production of prostaglandins (PGs), however, between 20%–25% of women with PD did not respond to pharmacological treatments, showing that nociceptive mechanisms underlying PD are still not understood. The purpose of this study was to measure and compare, through the use of ultrasound imaging, the thickness at rest of the abdominal wall, as well as the interrecti distance (IRD), in women with and without PD. Methods: A cross-sectional study has been performed using ultrasound imaging (USI) to measure the resting thickness of the external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), transversus abdominis (TrAb), rectus abdominis (RA), as well as the IRD in a sample of 39 women, 19 with PD and 20 without PD (median ± IR age: 20 ± 4 and 22.5 ± 7 years, respectively). Results: Findings of muscular thickness did not reveal statically significant differences (p < 0.05) in EO, IO, TrAb, RA, and the IRD between the PD group and control group. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the thickness of the abdominal wall is not associated with PD.

Associations between Soft drinks intake and Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Cross-sectional Study among Chinese undergraduate female students

“…Besides, the cause of PD is likely related to the cyclooxygenase pathway producing higher levels of prostanoids, speci cally prostaglandins (PGs), in the endometrium during ovulation cycles [12,13].…”

“…Primary dysmenorrhea(PD)is de ned as painful menstruation in absence of pelvic pathological changes, characterized by recurrent, cramp-like lower abdominal pain during menstruation [10,11]. It doubles as the most common gynecologic condition and one of the most common causes of pelvic pain in premenopausal women [10,12,13]. The prevalence of PD among female university students varies widely, ranging from 45-95% [14].…”

N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and physical exercise have the potential to reduce pain intensity in women with primary dysmenorrhea: Systematic Review

“…Primary dysmenorrhea is caused by uterine contractility and hypersecretion of prostaglandins, especially F2 Alpha (PGF2-a) when women are menstruating (Barcikowska et al 2022;Romero-Morales et al 2020;Hong et al 2022). Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain that arises and is felt in the absence of organic disease (Bernardi et al 2017;Abreu-Sánchez et al 2020).…”

Ultrasonography Comparison of Pelvic Floor and Abdominal Wall Muscles in Women with and without Dyspareunia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…An increased IRD, commonly found in woman in their postpartum period, could be a predictor of pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence [ 19 ]. Moreover, some authors have assessed the abdominal wall muscle thickness and IRD in other pain-related gynecological condition, dysmenorrhea, with discrepancy in their results [ 20 , 21 ]. Therefore, further studies are needed about the role of the central nervous system processing in painful conditions and its relation to pelvic muscle imbalance [ 21 ].…”