Health Notes

Relaxation techniques have been used with some success to alleviate dysmenorrhoea in some young women. According to one preliminary study, the symptoms of menstrual cramps, nausea, irritability, and poor concentration greatly improved after 20-minute relaxation sessions twice per week.³

Acupuncture may be a useful therapy in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea. A preliminary trial reported that 86% of women treated with acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea had complete cessation of pain for three consecutive menstrual periods.⁴ Other preliminary trials have demonstrated similar results.^{5, 6, 7} A controlled clinical trial reported 91% efficacy with acupuncture compared to 36.4% efficacy with sham acupuncture (using fake acupuncture points) and 18% efficacy in an untreated control group.⁸ A small trial compared a 30-minute TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) treatment to stimulate acupuncture points with a placebo pill for dysmenorrhoea. There was a large placebo effect in this study, and analgesia over the next a few hours was not significantly better in the treatment group compared to placebo.⁹ More controlled trials are needed to determine whether acupuncture is a useful treatment for dysmenorrhoea.

Spinal manipulation has been investigated as a treatment for dysmenorrhoea. One small preliminary study reported improvement in symptoms measured by a questionnaire.¹⁰ A controlled clinical trial compared a single treatment of spinal manipulation to the low back and pelvis to a sham manipulation that was designed to be ineffective. Women receiving real manipulation reported twice as much relief as those receiving sham treatment.¹¹ A recent, larger trial repeated the above study, testing a series of treatments over two months. Women reported less pain from both real and sham treatment, but there was no difference between the groups.¹² Whether there is a real benefit from spinal manipulation for women with dysmenorrhoea remains unclear at this time.