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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Herbs-Partitioned Moxibustion on the Navel in a Rat Model of Primary Dysmenorrhea with Cold Coagulation and Blood Stasis

Herbs-Partitioned Moxibustion on the Navel in a Rat Model of Primary Dysmenorrhea with Cold Coagulation and Blood Stasis

Published on: October 4, 2024

Acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhoea.

Caroline A Smith¹, Xiaoshu Zhu, Lin He

¹Centre for Complementary Medicine Research, The University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, New South Wales, Australia, 2751.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

|January 21, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Acupuncture and acupressure show promise in reducing period pain and improving menstrual symptoms for women with primary dysmenorrhea. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.

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Area of Science:

Integrative Medicine
Women's Health
Pain Management

Background:

Primary dysmenorrhea significantly impacts women's quality of life.
Evidence for acupuncture's efficacy in treating dysmenorrhea is under examination.
Conventional treatments include NSAIDs and oral contraceptives.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for primary dysmenorrhea.
To compare acupuncture against placebo, no treatment, and conventional medical therapies.
To assess acupuncture's impact on pain relief and menstrual symptom improvement.

Main Methods:

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) up to March 2010.
Included acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and acupressure for women with moderate to severe primary dysmenorrhea.
Meta-analysis of pain relief, symptom improvement, analgesic use, and quality of life.

Main Results:

Acupuncture improved pain relief compared to placebo, NSAIDs, and Chinese herbs.
Acupuncture and acupressure demonstrated significant pain reduction versus placebo.
Acupuncture also showed benefits in reducing menstrual symptoms and improving quality of life.

Conclusions:

Acupuncture appears effective in alleviating period pain associated with primary dysmenorrhea.
Acupressure also shows potential benefits for pain and symptom relief.
Further rigorous RCTs are recommended to solidify evidence and guide clinical practice.