Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies
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J Acupunct Meridian Stud · Oct 2015
Review Meta AnalysisAs Acupressure Decreases Pain, Acupuncture May Improve Some Aspects of Quality of Life for Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.
Primary dysmenorrhea is the most common gynecological symptom reported by women and constitutes a high health, social, and economic burden. Chemotherapies, along with their side effects, have not yielded satisfactory outcomes. Alternative nonpharmacological interventions, including acupuncture and acupressure, have been advocated, but evidence regarding their beneficial effect is inconclusive. ⋯ The systematic review showed moderate methodological quality with a mean of 6.1 out of 10 on the PEDro quality scale. Acupressure showed evidence of pain relief while acupuncture improved both the mental and the physical components of quality of life. In conclusion, physiotherapists should consider using acupuncture and acupressure to treat primary dysmenorrhea, but a need exists for higher quality, randomized, blinded, sham-controlled trials with adequate sample sizes to establish clearly the effects of these modalities.