Effectiveness of medical taping concept in primary dysmenorrhoea: a two-armed randomized trial

In 2014, we assessed the effectiveness of Medical Taping Concept (MTC) in Primary Dysmenorrhoea (PD) with a single-blind, two-armed clinical trial (NCT02114723, ClinicalTrials.gov) with a follow-up of 4 menstrual cycles (pre-intervention: 2 months; post-intervention: 2 months) in a sample formed by 129 Spanish women aged 18-30 years with PD. We had two groups: intervention group (75), MTC covering T-11 and T-12 dermatomes; control group (54), another taping in both greater trochanter areas. Our main outcome measures were: pre-intervention and post-intervention increase in pain difference measured 2 hours after commencement (2-h pain - 0-h pain); difference between the number of tablets ingested post-intervention and pre-intervention; and associated symptoms in post-intervention (fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea and others). Pain was assessed in: abdomen, legs, head and lower back. We found significant differences (p < 0.05) for number of tablets, abdominal and leg pain. In conclusion, the intervention group had less abdominal and leg pain when pharmacological therapy was not started. Furthermore, the intervention resulted in a lower intake of tablets. Nevertheless, more studies are needed to corroborate our results and to analyze the MTC effectiveness if women do not take any tablets during the entire menstrual period.