EA was superior to pharmacological treatment when the treatment duration lasted for three menstrual cycles , evidence d by significantly higher curative rate .
No statistically significant differences between EA at SP6 and control groups were found regarding the VRS , RSS-COX1 , and RSS-COX2 .
The findings of our study suggested that EA can provide considerable immediate analgesia effect for PD .
Electroacupuncture ( EA ) is considered to be a promising alternative therapy to relieve the menstrual pain for primary dysmenorrhea ( PD ) , but the conclusion is controversial .
Here , we conducted a systematic review and meta- analysis specifically to evaluate the clinical efficacy from r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) on the use of EA in patients with PD .
Immediate analgesia effect of single point acupuncture in primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND Acupuncture is often used for primary dysmenorrhea . OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of a single point of acupuncture in the management of primary dysmenorrhea compared with sham acupuncture and no acupuncture . METHODOLOGY Patients with primary dysmenorrhea were r and omly assigned to acupoint group ( n=50 ) , unrelated acupoint group ( n=50 ) , nonacupoint group ( n=46 ) , or no acupuncture group ( n=48 ) . Acupuncture and sham acupuncture were administered once-daily for 3 days with electro-acupuncture at Sanyinjiao ( SP6 ) that was specifically design ed to treat primary dysmenorrhea , or an unrelated acupoint ( Xuanzhong , GB39 ) , or nonacupoint location . The primary outcome was pain intensity as measured by a 100-mm visual analog scale ( VAS ) at baseline ; 5 , 10 , 30 , and 60 minutes following the start of the first intervention . Cox retrospective symptom scale ( RSS ) , verbal rating scale ( VRS ) , pain total time , and proportion of participants using analgesics were also recorded during three menstrual cycles . RESULTS The primary comparison of VAS scores demonstrated that patients receiving acupuncture ( -15.56 mm , 95 % CI -22.16 to -8.95 , P<0.001 ) , unrelated acupoint ( -18.14 mm , 95 % CI -24.81 to -11.47 , P<0.001 ) , and nonacupoint ( -10.96 mm , 95 % CI -17.62 to -4.30 , P=0.001 ) treatment presented significant improvements compared with no acupuncture group . There were no significant differences among the four groups with respect to secondary outcomes . CONCLUSION Acupuncture was better than no acupuncture for relieving the pain of dysmenorrhea following a single point of acupuncture , but no differences were detected between acupoint acupuncture and unrelated acupoint acupuncture , acupoint acupuncture and nonacupoint acupuncture
EA was superior to pharmacological treatment when the treatment duration lasted for three menstrual cycles , evidence d by significantly higher curative rate .
No statistically significant differences between EA at SP6 and control groups were found regarding the VRS , RSS-COX1 , and RSS-COX2 .
The findings of our study suggested that EA can provide considerable immediate analgesia effect for PD .
Electroacupuncture ( EA ) is considered to be a promising alternative therapy to relieve the menstrual pain for primary dysmenorrhea ( PD ) , but the conclusion is controversial .
Here , we conducted a systematic review and meta- analysis specifically to evaluate the clinical efficacy from r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ) on the use of EA in patients with PD .