The Effect of Zumba Exercise on Reducing Menstrual Pain in Young Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of performing Zumba exercise on the severity and duration of pain in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Cairo University gynecology Hospital and Bahgat gym and fitness center. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-eight women diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhea. INTERVENTIONS: Study participants were divided randomly into 2 equal groups: group I included women who engaged in Zumba exercise for 60 minutes twice weekly for 8 weeks, and group II was a control group with no intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the menstrual pain intensity measured using the visual analogue scale scores at 4 and 8 weeks after starting Zumba exercise. The secondary outcome was the difference in the duration of pain in both groups. RESULTS: Both groups were homogeneous regarding the baseline demographic characteristics. The severity of primary dysmenorrhea at the beginning of the study was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Menstrual pain intensity was significantly decreased in the Zumba group after 4 and 8 weeks of Zumba compared with the control group (mean difference, -2.94 [95% confidence interval, -3.39 to -2.48] and -3.79 [95% confidence interval, -4.16 to -3.43], respectively; P = .001). Also, the duration of pain was shorter in the Zumba group compared with the control group at 8 weeks (4.92 ± 1.90 vs 9.10 ± 2.92 hours, respectively; P = .001). CONCLUSION: The Zumba intervention can reduce the severity and duration of menstrual pain thus suggesting that regularly performing Zumba might be a possible complementary treatment for primary dysmenorrhea.

Brain Volume and Doppler Velocimetry in Growth-Restricted, Small-for-Gestational-Age, and Appropriate-for-Gestational-Age Fetuses.

Objective This study aims to detect possible differences in fetal brain volumes between growth-restricted fetuses (FGR), small-for-gestational-age (SGA) fetuses with normal Doppler indices, and appropriate-for-gestational-age fetuses (AGA). Study Design Three-dimensional measurements of fetal brain volume and umbilical artery and middle cerebral artery (MCA) pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) were made in 80 AGA fetuses, 68 SGA fetuses with normal Doppler indices, and 68 FGR with brain-sparing effect between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation. Results MCA-PI and MCA-RI were significantly lower in FGR group compared with the other two groups (p < 0.001). Brain volume was significantly lower in SGA and FGR groups compared with AGA group (p < 0.001). Conclusion Brain volume is significantly lower in SGA and FGR groups compared with AGA group.