Acupuncture is more effective than traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating primary dysmenorrhea, offering reliable evidence to support clinical treatment decisions.
In this study, an exhaustive search yielded 209 articles, from which 12 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were carefully selected for quality evaluation after excluding animal experiments and reviews. Through stringent evidence-based criteria and exclusions of studies with unclear data or diagnostic criteria, seven research articles were deemed suitable for analysis, focusing on the effects of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) on primary dysmenorrhea. A meta-analysis of these studies, showcasing minimal heterogeneity, revealed a statistically significant advantage for acupuncture over TCM, with an odds ratio (OR) of 4.86 (95% confidence interval: 2.84–8.33) indicating higher clinical effectiveness. However, with a modest sample size of 492 patients across trials and acknowledgment of the generally low quality of included literature—many lacking randomization and blinding—the study highlights the necessity for more rigorous, large-scale randomized controlled trials adhering to methodological rigor to solidify the observed superiority of acupuncture in treating primary dysmenorrhea.
