Research on the pains experienced by women during their menstrual periods is quite limited. However, the few studies done on the subject make it possible to understand this condition a little more.
A recent study conducted by researchers at the Universitätsmedizin Berlin and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, investigated whether, for people aged 18 to 34, self-acupressure would be more effective than other treatments (analgesics and hormonal contraceptives) to reduce menstrual pain.
Acupressure to relieve menstrual pain:
Acupressure comes from traditional Chinese medicine and involves exerting pressure, or massaging specific points of the body.
It can be done by a specialist, which is often recommended. But with basic knowledge, you can do it yourself, it's called self-acupressure.
For the study mentioned above, the 221 trial participants were randomly selected to be part of one of two groups, one of which used an application that indicated to the user how to practice acupressure. before and during menstruation.
Although the number of subjects was relatively small, the results were really promising. Of the self-acupressing group, 37% reported a 50% reduction in menstrual pain intensity after three months of therapy.
In addition, those who were in the acupressure group had to use fewer pain medications than those in the control group and all reported lower levels of pain intensity.
"We were surprised to find that after six months, two-thirds of participants continued to use self-acupressure. So far, research on the clinical effectiveness of applications has been limited, and only a few have been tested using randomized controlled trials, "said Dr. Daniel Pach of the Institute of Social Medicine , epidemiology and health economics.
"We have been able to show that applications can be evaluated in a clinical trial setting. However, despite our experience with conventional clinical trials, we had a lot to learn, something that we found both exciting and revealing, "he concluded.