Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials of Acupressure Therapy for Primary Dysmenorrhea

Jiang H, Ni S, Li J, Liu M, Li J, Cui X, Zhang B · Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine · 2013 January

DOI 10.1155/2013/169692

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of acupressure in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs)

Conclusions

Acupressure improved pain measured with VAS (−1.41 cm 95% CI [−1.61, −1.21]), SF-MPQ at the 3-month followup (WMD −2.33, 95% CI [−4.11, −0.54]) and 6-month followup (WMD −4.67, 95% CI [−7.30, −2.04]), and MDQ at the 3-month followup (WMD −2.31, 95% CI [−3.74, −0.87]) and 6-month followup (WMD −4.67, 95% CI [−7.30, −2.04]). All trials did not report adverse events. These results were limited by the methodological flaws of trials.

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Insights

Limited evidence supporting the benefit of acupressure in alleviating menstrual pain and reducing symptoms.

The passage presents the results of a systematic review on the effectiveness of acupressure in treating primary dysmenorrhea, a condition characterized by painful menstrual cramps. The review started with 224 potentially relevant records, ultimately including 8 trials involving 800 participants. All trials used a parallel design with varying control interventions. Six trials employed no treatment controls, while two were single-blind clinical trials using placebo acupressure. The research locations varied, with the largest trial conducted in China, and the smallest in Iran. The analysis was performed individually for each trial using special software. The trials used fixed sets of acupressure points and administered acupressure for different durations (one, two, or three menstrual cycles). Pain relief was assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) in six trials. The risk of bias assessment indicated high risks in various domains across the studies. In terms of effects, acupressure demonstrated an improvement in pain relief compared to placebo or rest control, and it was also more effective than Ibuprofen in one aspect. However, for improvement in symptoms, acupressure did not consistently outperform placebo acupressure or rest control, with mixed results across different time points. Overall, the evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating primary dysmenorrhea is considered limited due to methodological flaws in the trials, necessitating well-designed RCTs for more conclusive results.