There is some evidence from five RCTs that behavioural interventions may be effective for dysmenorrhoea. However results should be viewed with caution as they varied greatly between trials due to inconsistency in the reporting of data, small trial size, poor methodological quality and age of the trials.
A comparison of skin temperature and EMG training for primary dysmenorrhea.
Eleven female volunteers completed a 6-month treatment program consisting of a 2-month baseline phase, 2 months of biofeedback training (X number of sessions = 12.9), and 2 months of follow-up data collection. Subjects were assigned to one of two treatment groups: skin temperature training or EMG training of the frontalis muscle. Self-report data were gathered by means of the Symptom Severity Scale. Results, which were analyzed according to a 2 X 3 (treatment X phase) split-plot factorial design, indicate a highly significant overall treatment effect (F = 19.32 p less than .001). There was no significant difference between treatments (F = .47) and no significant interaction effect (F = 1.74).