Comparative study of response to experimental cold pain in dysmenorrheic and nondysmenorrheic women

Abstract

Background: There has been keen research interest into the gender differences in tolerance of pain sensation. Dysmenorrheic pain is common among women of reproductive age group. Assessment of pain perception will result in better management of this chronic state. In this era of personalized medicine, optimizing analgesic treatment in patients with chronic pain is essential. Aims and Objectives: To compare levels of pain threshold and pain tolerance determined using cold pressor test in dysmenorrheic and nondysmenorrheic women during a single menstrual cycle in different phases. Materials and Methods: This is a comparative study done on 31 dysmenorrheic and nondysmenorrheic women between the ages of 18 and 22 years conducted in a tertiary care institution. We performed cold pressor test on 1st, 14th, and 21st day of menstrual cycle denoting the menstrual phase, late follicular phase, and luteal phase on the participants. Results: The levels of pain tolerance and pain threshold were significantly higher in dysmenorrheic women in comparison to nondysmenorrheic women. Conclusions: Higher thresholds may be supportive of a model of pain adaptation as dysmenorrheic women tend to compare cold pressor pain with internal menstrual pain. The knowledge of varying pain perception would benefit the gynecologists in dose adjustments of analgesics.