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Acupuncture to Treat Primary Dysmenorrhea in Women : A Randomized Controlled Trial
Joint Authors
Beilby, Justin
Crowther, Caroline A.
Petrucco, Oswald
Dent, Hannah
Smith, Caroline A.
Source
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Issue
Vol. 2011, Issue 2011 (31 Dec. 2011), pp.1-11, 11 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2011-03-20
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
11
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
We examined the effectiveness of acupuncture to reduce the severity and intensity of primary dysmenorrhea.
A randomized controlled trial compared acupuncture with control acupuncture using a placebo needle.
Eligible women were aged 14–25 years with a diagnosis of primary dysmenorrhea.
Women received nine sessions of the study treatment over 3 months.
The primary outcomes were menstrual pain intensity and duration, overall improvement in dysmenorrhea symptoms and reduced need for additional analgesia, measured at 3, 6 and 12 months from trial entry.
A total of 92 women were randomly assigned to the intervention (acupuncture n=46 and control n=46).
At 3 months although pain outcomes were lower for women in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, there was no significant difference between groups.
Women receiving acupuncture reported a small reduction in mood changes compared with the control group, relative risk (RR) 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.53–1.00, P=.05.
Follow-up at 6 months found a significant reduction in the duration of menstrual pain in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, mean difference –9.6, 95% CI –18.9 to –0.3, P=.04, and the need for additional analgesia was significantly lower in the acupuncture group compared with the control group, RR 0.69, 95% CI 0.49–0.96, P=.03, but the follow-up at 12 months found lack of treatment effect.
To conclude, although acupuncture improved menstrual mood symptoms in women with primary dysmenorrhea during the treatment phase, the trend in the improvement of symptoms during the active phase of treatment, and at 6 and 12 months was non-significant, indicating that a small treatment effect from acupuncture on dysmenorrhea may exist.
In the study, acupuncture was acceptable and safe, but further appropriately powered trials are needed before recommendations for clinical practice can be made.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Smith, Caroline A.& Crowther, Caroline A.& Petrucco, Oswald& Beilby, Justin& Dent, Hannah. 2011. Acupuncture to Treat Primary Dysmenorrhea in Women : A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine،Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-485053
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Smith, Caroline A.…[et al.]. Acupuncture to Treat Primary Dysmenorrhea in Women : A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine No. 2011 (2011), pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-485053
American Medical Association (AMA)
Smith, Caroline A.& Crowther, Caroline A.& Petrucco, Oswald& Beilby, Justin& Dent, Hannah. Acupuncture to Treat Primary Dysmenorrhea in Women : A Randomized Controlled Trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2011. Vol. 2011, no. 2011, pp.1-11.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-485053
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-485053