Effects of Diaphragmatic Breathing in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aimed to investigate the effects of diaphragmatic breathing (DB) on menstrual pain and symptoms, quality of life, stress level, and sleep quality in women with primary dysmenorrhea (PD).

Women with PD were randomly divided into two groups: the DB (n = 22) and the control groups (n = 22). DB was performed 3 days a week during 2 menstrual periods. No treatment was performed in the control group. For the primary outcome, the pain intensity with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS); for secondary outcomes, menstrual symptoms with the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ); quality of life with the Dysmenorrhea Impact Scale-Revised Short Form (DIS-R); stress level with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); and sleep quality with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were assessed pre- and postintervention.

In the postintervention period, there was a further decrease in VAS (p < 0.001), MSQ (p < 0.001), DIS-R (p = 0.003), and PSS scores (p = 0.036) in the DB group; however, no difference in the PSQI score was found (p = 0.150). Moreover, there was a further decrease in MSQ scores in the DB group than in the control group (p = 0.044).

DB may help reduce menstrual pain, symptoms, and stress and improve the quality of life in women with PD. Thus, DB can be used as a complementary method in addition to other therapies in PD management. However, due to factors such as the nonintervention control group, the use of subjective evaluation methods, and the presentation of short-term results and per-protocol analysis, the study's findings should not be generalized and should be interpreted as modest between-group effects.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT063212244.