Effects of acupuncture treatment for menstrual pain.-Study by Ringheaded thumbtack needle- / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

[Objective]We examined the effects of acupuncture treatment at Sanyinjiao (SP6) on menstrual pain in female students. In addition, the correlation between the effects of acupuncture treatment and the neurosis were evaluated.<BR>[Methods]Fifty-one female students were participated in this study as the subject. Acupuncture treatment using Ringheaded thumbtack needle were performed to bilateral SP6 for the three months. Non-treatment periods for three months were set in before and after acupuncture period, respectively. Patients received the Ringheaded thumbtack needle through four days in a week. The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated using the categorical scale for the severity of menstrual pain accompany with numbers of taking drugs for analgesic. To evaluate the correlation between effects of acupuncture and neurosis, the tendency of neurosis was confirmed by cornel medical index (CMI) and the perimenstrual symptoms were confirmed by menstrual distress questionnaire (MDQ).<BR>[Results]Twenty-seven subjects were analyzed for evaluation in this present study. During Ringheaded thumbtack needle treatment periods (acupuncture periods), menstrual pain had reduced into 48%of subjects. The number of taking drugs for analgesic was decreased with the reduction of severity of menstrual pain during acupuncture periods (p<0.05). The correlation between the effect of acupuncture and the tendency of neurosis were observed. Acupuncture improved the menstrual pain in the subjects who belong to category I and/or II of CMI. However, no remarkable changes were observed in the III and/or IV subjects of CMI. Furthermore, the high score of fives specific pain into MDQ (shoulder pain, headache, etc) and negative feelings factor were obtained in subjects who accompany with strong menstrual pain still after acupuncture<BR>[Discussion]These findings suggest that menstrual pain was reduced by Ringheaded thumbtack needle to bilateral SP6. Additionally this result was influenced by a psychological factor and/or some kind of pain which is not only menstrual pain.