Effectiveness of medical taping concept in primary dysmenorrhoea: a two-armed randomized trial

The effects of taping in the management of primary dysmenorrhoea: A systematic review with meta-analysis

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we explored the efficacy of taping as a non-pharmacological intervention for pain reduction in primary dysmenorrhoea (PD), a prevalent condition causing significant quality of life impairment. We conducted a comprehensive search across databases including PubMed, PEDro, and Web of Science to identify randomized controlled trials assessing taping's effectiveness in PD for pain relief. Our criteria focused on studies comparing taping to no intervention or alternatives, with pain outcomes primarily measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The quality assessment utilized the PEDro scale, with scores ranging from 4 to 8, indicating a spectrum of moderate to high-quality evidence. The results indicate that both kinesiotaping (SMD = -1.22; 95 % CI: -2.15, -0.29; p = 0.01) and other tapes (SMD = -1.61, 95 % CI: -2.15, -0.65; p = 0.001) significantly reduces pain intensity in women with PD. However, the certainty of evidence was very low according to GRADE criteria. This underscores the necessity for further research to understand taping's analgesic mechanisms, its long-term effects, and its influence on related symptoms and overall quality of life. Our findings advocate for the inclusion of taping in PD management, offering a promising direction for enhancing care in affected women.

Effects of Kinesio Taping method on menstrual pain: A randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study

Current research promotes complementary methods of coping with menstrual pain (MP). Our objective was to examine the effectiveness of the Kinesio Taping (KT) intervention on MP and determine whether KT has therapeutic impact or whether there is presence of placebo. We used crossover design, dividing 30 female participants into KT and placebo KT groups. Every phase included one menstrual cycle. The average age of participants was 23.5 years (ranging from 18 to 39 years). In the assessment, we used VAS, Brief Pain Inventory Scale, and some SF-36 subscales. In KT phase all types of pain (the average MP, the worst experienced MP, the mildest one, and the current MP) were significantly less intense. KT has beneficial effect in reducing MP and its consequences and it is significantly superior to placebo. The order of intervention showed no statistical significance, which also confirms the therapeutic effect of KT.

Safety and efficacy of therapeutic taping in primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common gynecological condition among adolescent and adult women. Several pharmacological and alternative therapies (e.g. therapeutic taping) have been used to treat PD, with varying effect. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic taping on clinical symptoms of PD, considering pain as the primary outcome. MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, PEDro, CINAHL and gray literature sources were searched from inception to February 2022 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effect of therapeutic taping for PD. The language was restricted to English. A total of ten studies were included in the systematic review, involving 685 participants. Eight studies were included in quantitative analysis. The quality of the studies ranged from 4 to 7 with a median of 5 as assessed by PEDro scale. Meta-analyses indicated short-term improvements of pain compared to sham and no interventions. Elastic therapeutic taping (ETT) indicated short term improvements in anxiety associated with PD. Moderate to high quality of evidence suggested that ETT is an effective intervention in improving pain, anxiety, and quality of life of women with PD. A scarcity of evidence on the long-term effects of therapeutic taping in PD is observed.

Kinesio Taping vs. Auricular Acupressure for the Personalised Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhoea: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Dysmenorrhoea is the medical term for menstrual pain. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 81% of women of childbearing age are affected by this condition, and it is one of the leading causes of absenteeism from work and school among women. Although there are pharmacological treatments available for menstrual-pain relief, they do not respond to all women's needs. Therefore, there is a need to study and develop non-pharmacological alternatives to broaden the individualised treatment options for dysmenorrhea. There are scarce studies published on non-pharmacological treatments, such as kinesio tape and auricular acupressure for the relief of menstrual pain, but the scientific evidence available suggest that these techniques may be beneficial in addressing this problem. The objective of this pilot study was to assess and compare the effectiveness of kinesio tape and auricular acupressure to decrease pain and drug intake in women with primary dysmenorrhoea.

METHODS

This was a double-blind randomized clinical controlled trial. The period of study was from September 2017 to August 2018. Women enrolled in the University of Extremadura and who had primary dysmenorrhoea were randomized to five groups: control (n = 23), kinesio tape (n = 23), placebo kinesio tape (n = 23), auricular acupressure (n = 23) and placebo auricular acupressure (n = 22). Measures were taken during the pretreatment phase (at four menstrual cycles), during the post-intervention phase (at four menstrual cycles) and during the follow-up phase (at the first and third menstrual cycles after the treatment was completed). The primary outcome measures were mean pain intensity, maximum pain intensity, number of painful days and dose of drug intake during menstruation, measured with the Visual Analogue Scale. The secondary outcome measures were the length of the cycle, the length of menstruation, the drug intake and the type of drug.

RESULTS

In all, 108 participants completed the study. The statistical analysis (MANOVA, ANOVA, t-paired and McNemar tests) showed that kinesio tape and auricular acupressure have a beneficial effect on pain relief (mean pain intensity, p < 0.001; maximum pain intensity, p < 0.001; number of painful days, p = 0.021; dose of drug intake, p < 0.001). In addition, once the treatments were withdrawn, the auricular-acupressure group maintained lower scores during the first follow-up cycle (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Kinesio tape and auricular acupressure decrease pain and drug intake in women with primary dysmenorrhoea. The changes in the auricular-acupressure group seemed to last longer. The results suggest that these techniques could be used as complementary personalised therapies to the pharmacological treatment and not as a substitution.

Interference and Impact of Dysmenorrhea on the Life of Spanish Nursing Students

Dysmenorrhea is a cause of absenteeism in universities which, in the context of nursing studies, may affect mandatory attendance. Moreover, presenteeism is associated with medication errors, patient falls, and a reduced quality of patient care. This study sought to identify the degree of interference of dysmenorrhea on daily life and its impact on academic performance among Spanish nursing students, and to explore the reasons for presenteeism. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 261 nursing students. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The chi square tests, chi-square linear trend, Student's t-test, one-way analysis of variance of polynomial contrasts, and post hoc tests for the bi-variate analysis were used to compare the participants' responses regarding their type of dysmenorrhea and pain intensity. In addition, a multivariate regression was performed to predict absenteeism. The answers to the open questions were analyzed using thematic content analysis techniques. We observed 62.8% of absenteeism and 92.7% of presenteeism due to dysmenorrhea. Absenteeism was observed to be 3.079 (confidence interval (CI): 95%1.724-5.499; p < 0.001) times more likely among women with severe menstrual pain, 2.513 (CI 95%1.314-4.807; p = 0.005) times more in those suffering from menstrual nausea and 1.936 (CI 95%1.098-3.411; p = 0.022) times more frequent in those suffering from diarrhea. The reasons for presenteeism were grouped into five categories: the pain was bearable, it is not a reason to be absent, others don't consider it a reason to be absent, responsibility and guilt, and academic consequences. Dysmenorrhea can have a significant impact on academic performance. The concern among students about the academic repercussions and even feelings of guilt and incomprehension from others leads to high rates of presenteeism with potentially negative consequences for patient care.

Effects of kinesio tape application on pain, anxiety, and menstrual complaints in women with primary dysmenorrhea: A randomized sham-controlled trial

AIM

To investigate the effects of kinesio tape (KT) application on pain, anxiety, and menstrual complaints in women with PD and compare this application with control and sham tape (ST).

METHODS

Fifty-one women with PD were randomized into three groups: KT, ST, and control groups. No tape application was performed in the control group. KT was applied on the sacral and suprapubic regions with the ligament technique in the KT group, while it was applied on the trochanter major with no technique in the ST group. Pain, anxiety level, and menstrual complaints were assessed before and after the applications.

RESULTS

The decreases in pain, anxiety levels, and some menstrual complaints after the application were higher in the KT group than those in the other two groups (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

KT application seems to be an effective method in decreasing pain, anxiety level, and some menstrual complaints in women with PD.

The clinical efficacy of lavender oil inhalation on intensity of menstrual pain from primary dysmenorrhea

Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as painful menses with cramping sensation in the lower abdomen with normal ovulatory cycles which has no pelvic pathology. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of inhalation of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) essential oil on alleviating primary dysmenorrhea.Methods: This randomized double-blinded clinical trial included 96 students (48 in lavender and 48 in placebo groups) from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Single students with regular menstrual cycles suffering from primary dysmenorrhea regarding the verbal multi-dimensional scoring system were included. The intervention group was administered to inhale lavender essential oil (diluted in sesame oil in 2:1 ratio). The control group only inhaled sesame essential oil. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain score at the baseline and 1, 2, 4, and 48 hours after intervention. Generalized estimation equations method was used for data analysis.Results: The students’ mean ± standard deviation (SD) age was 20.32±1.38 years. No significant difference was found in demographic and menstrual characteristics between groups. The mean VAS was not significantly different between groups at the baseline. Lavender inhalation reduced the mean±SD primary dysmenorrhea score of 2.92±0.2 according to VAS significantly during 48 first hours adjusted for baseline VAS (P < 0.001).Conclusion: It could be concluded that lavender inhalation can decrease primary dysmenorrhea. The observed effectiveness of lavender inhalation as an inexpensive therapy without evidence of adverse event supports the interest for potential application of this therapy.

Conformity of modified O-ring test and maximal pinch strength for cross tape application direction

BACKGROUND

Although cross tape has recently been used by clinicians for various musculoskeletal conditions, scientific studies on the direction of cross tape application are lacking.

METHODS

The present study aimed to investigate whether the direction of cross tape application affected the outcomes of the modified O-ring test and maximal pinch strength using a pinch gauge and the conformity between these 2 tests when cross tape was applied to the forearm muscles of individuals with no upper extremity pain and no restriction of joint range of motion.This study used a single-blinding crossover design. The subjects comprised 39 adults (16 men and 23 women). Cross tape was applied to the dominant hand so that the 4 rows were at an angle of 45° to the right or left of the direction of the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle fibers, and then the subjects underwent a modified O-ring test and a test of maximal pinch strength using a pinch gauge. Both tests were performed in both directions, and the order of the directions and tests was randomized. SPSS 18.0 was used for statistical analysis. Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to analyze the conformity of the results from the 2 tests. The statistical significance level was P < .05.

RESULTS

A positive response in the modified O-ring test and maximal pinch strength were both affected by cross tape direction. The modified O-ring test and maximal pinch strength using pinch gauge results were in agreement (P < .00), and the kappa coefficient was significant at 1.00.

CONCLUSION

The direction of cross tape application that produced a positive response in the modified O-ring test also produced greater maximal pinch strength. Thus, we propose that when applying cross tape to muscles, the direction of the 4 lines of the cross tape should be 45° relative to the direction of the muscle fibers, toward the side that produces a positive response in the modified O-ring test or produces the greatest maximal pinch strength using a pinch gauge.

Comparison of the efficacy and safety of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A network meta-analysis

Objective Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used as first-line treatment of primary dysmenorrhea, but there has been no optimal clinical choice among non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs yet. The present study was to assess the relative benefits of different common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for primary dysmenorrhea patients with a network meta-analysis. Methods Randomized controlled trials were screened by our criteria and included in the network meta-analysis. Pain relief was considered as primary outcomes and adverse effect was supplied as a safety outcome, while additional rescue, assessment score, and pain intensity difference were secondary outcomes. All the indexes were evaluated with odds ratio or standardized mean difference. Surface under cumulative ranking curve result was used to calculate the ranking of each treatment. Results Totally, 72 randomized controlled trials of 5723 patients and 13 drugs were included in our study after screening. As for pain relief, all drugs except nimesulide, rofecoxib, and waldecoxib were superior to aspirin (odds ratio with 95% credible intervals, diclofenac: 0.28 (0.08, 0.86), flurbiprofen: 0.10 (0.03, 0.29), ibuprofen: 0.32 (0.14, 0.73), indomethacin: 0.21 (0.07, 0.58), ketoprofen: 0.25 (0.10, 0.64), mefenamic acid: 0.28 (0.09, 0.87), naproxen: 0.31 (0.15, 0.64), piroxicam: 0.15 (0.03, 0.59), and tiaprofenic acid: 0.17 (0.04, 0.63)). Aspirin also required additional rescue when compared with the majority of other drugs (flurbiprofen: 3.46 (1.15, 11.25), ibuprofen: 6.30 (2.08, 20.09), mefenamic acid: 7.32 (1.51, 37.71), naproxen: 2.66 (1.17, 6.55), and tiaprofenic acid: 9.58 (1.43, 94.63)). As for assessment of the whole treatment, ketoprofen, naproxen, rofecoxib, and ibuprofen got higher score significantly than placebo. In addition, ibuprofen performed better than placebo in pain intensity difference. Considering the safety, tiaprofenic acid and mefenamic acid were noticeable in low risk, and indomethacin revealed higher risk than any other drugs. According to the results of network analysis and surface under cumulative ranking curve, flurbiprofen was considered to be the best one among all the treatments in efficacy, and aspirin was worse than most of others. On the other hand, tiaprofenic acid and mefenamic acid were indicated as the safest drugs. Conclusion Considering the efficacy and safety, we recommended flurbiprofen and tiaprofenic acid as the optimal treatments for primary dysmenorrhea.

The Efficacy of Thai Herbal Prasaplai Formula for Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Short-Term Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to compare the efficacy of pain relief between a specific Thai herbal Prasaplai formula (PPF) and placebo in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Forty women with primary dysmenorrhea symptoms were randomized into two groups. The experimental group received PPF capsules 1000 mg orally three times per day before meals for three days starting from the first day of menstruation. The placebo group received placebo as the same dose and time. Average pain intensity from the first day to the third day of cycle significantly decreased in both groups (p < 0.001), but with no statistically significant difference between groups. Using a pre- and posttreatment difference in NRS of at least 2, a greater proportion of patients in PPF group experienced pain relief compared to placebo during the first and second day of period. A greater proportion of PPF group also experienced no pain compared to the placebo group on day 1 and day 3 by using multidimensional scoring. The PPF demonstrates pain relief activity when used during menstruation in primary dysmenorrhea patients, with no adverse effects. However, further studies are needed in order to assess the value of PPF as a long-term prophylaxis for primary dysmenorrhea.