Menstrual Pain
Conditions
Keywords
Menstrual pain, Primary dysmenorrhea, Self-care acupressure
Brief summary
The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of additional self-care acupressure in women with menstrual pain compared to usual care alone.
Detailed description
Menstrual pain is a common problem in young women and one of the the main reasons of short term absence from school or work. There is some evidence that acupuncture and acupressure might be successful in treating of menstrual pain. Compared with acupuncture, acupressure offers the possibility for women with menstrual pain to do self-care treatment at home. However, studies have been small and self-care acupressure had been only investigated in one study from Taiwan.
Interventions
PROCEDURESelf-care acupressure at three predefined points
Self-care acupressure, one minute for each point, starting 5 days before menstruation, once up to twice daily; when pain is present: twice daily up to five times
Sponsors
Karl and Veronica Carstens Foundation
Charite University, Berlin, Germany
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Women with dysmenorrhea as defined as cramping pain during every menstrual cycle * Age: 18 to 25 years * Up to now no prior history of a gynecological disease that could be a reason for dysmenorrhea * Women with menstruation in the last six weeks and a duration of menstruation cycles between 3 and 6 weeks * Women with moderate and severe pain defined as a score equal or higher than 6 on the numeric rating scale for the worst pain intensity during the last menstruation. * Written and oral informed consent * Women must be able to complete the baseline questionnaire in paper form, the electronic questionnaire via App and a electronic diary via App. * Presence of a Smartphone and agreement to do data entry through the App
Exclusion criteria
* Acupressure, acupuncture, shiatsu- or/and tuina massage at the moment or planned in the next 8 months * Known or planned pregnancy in the next 8 months.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Mean pain intensity at the days of pain during the 3rd cycle after therapy start (Numeric Rating Scale, NRS) | 3rd menstruation after therapy start |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Duration of pain | Baseline, after the 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
| Responder rate defined as 50% pain reduction at the days of pain | Baseline, after the 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
| Sick leave days | Baseline, after the 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
| Worst pain intensity (NRS) | Baseline, after the 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
| Days with medication intake | Baseline, after the 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
| Bodily self-efficacy | Baseline, after 1.,2.,3. and 6. menstruation |
| Credibility of the intervention | After 3. menstruation |
| Adverse effects | After 1., 2., 3. and 6. menstruation |
Countries
Germany
Outcome results
None listed