Acute effects of virtual reality-based relaxation and exergaming on primary dysmenorrhea symptoms

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a menstrual disorder with significant physical and psychological impacts. Physical activity and relaxation techniques are proven methods for managing PD. Advances in virtual reality (VR) suggest that immersive relaxation and exergaming could provide new avenues for symptom relief. This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of VR-based interventions on PD symptoms and compare them with a control group receiving Jacobson's Relaxation.

A randomized, controlled, single-blind trial was conducted with 43 female participants aged 18-30 years with regular menstrual cycles and PD. Participants were allocated to three groups: (I) immersive VR relaxation, (II) nonimmersive VR exergaming, or (III) Jacobson's relaxation (control group). Each participant completed a single 20-min session of their assigned intervention. Primary outcomes included abdomino-pelvic pain intensity, menstrual symptom severity, sleep quality, and perceived intervention effectiveness.

All interventions reduced pain (r = 0.78-0.85) and symptom severity (r = 0.73-0.88) (p < 0.05), with no sleep quality changes. Between-group comparisons showed the control group to be more effective than nonimmersive VR exergaming in reducing menstrual symptom severity (p = 0.021, η² = 0.144) and yielded higher perceived effectiveness (p = 0.010, η² = 0.182).

Both VR-based interventions and the control group effectively alleviated PD symptoms, with the control group providing the most consistent symptom relief. Despite promising results for VR-based methods, traditional relaxation may be more accessible and better tolerated.