Short-term effects of connective tissue manipulation in women with primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

AimTo evaluate the short-term effectiveness of connective tissue manipulation (CTM) for relieving menstrual pain and symptoms in primary dysmenorrhea (PD). MethodsForty-four women with PD were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 21) or control group (n = 23). While the control group was given only advising, the treatment group additionally received CTM. The primary outcome was the menstrual pain intensity by Visual Analogue Scale. Secondary outcomes included the number of pain medications, menstrual pain catastrophizing by Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), menstrual symptoms by Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) and menstrual attitude by Menstrual Attitude Questionnaire (MAQ). ResultsCompared with the control group, CTM group showed statistically significant improvement in pain, medication use, PCS, MSQ (p = 0.001) and in the perception of menstruation as a natural event (p = 0.029). However, no significant differences were detected between groups for some aspects of MAQ (p > 0.05). ConclusionsCTM seems to be an effective approach in the short-term in PD.