Abstract
Study Objective
Dysmenorrhea is the most common cyclic pelvic pain, and it affects the quality of
life of many women. We sought to compare the effects of massage and isometric exercises
on primary dysmenorrhea.
Design, Setting, and Participants
We conducted a randomized controlled trial at the dormitories of Shiraz University
among 102 students with primary dysmenorrheal.
Interventions
The student groups were randomly divided into massage, isometric exercises, and control
groups. The first group received 2 consecutive cycles of effleurage massage with lavender
oil. The second group had 8 weeks of isometric exercises. No intervention was performed
for the control group.
Main Outcome Measurements
Pain intensity was measured and recorded by using a visual analog scale. In addition,
the duration of pain was measured in hours, and Spielberger's questionnaire was used
to measure the anxiety level.
Results
Pain intensity had significantly reduced in the massage and exercises groups; the
reduction was more significant in the massage group (P < .001). The results revealed a significant difference among the 3 groups in regard
to the mean duration of pain after the third cycle (P = .006). However, no significant difference was found among the 3 groups concerning
the mean level of anxiety. The results of intragroup comparisons only showed a significant
reduction of anxiety level in the massage group after the third cycle (P = .017).
Conclusion
Based on the present findings, it seems that massage therapy and isometric exercises
were effective in reducing some symptoms of dysmenorrhea.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 04, 2015
Footnotes
The authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
