Trial reportAlternative therapies in health and medicine
An innovative acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, crossover pilot study.
Trial report in Alternative therapies in health and medicine. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- An update and systematic review on the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.JBRA assisted reproduction · 2019Pooled it
- Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Acupuncture point injection treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea: a randomised, double blind, controlled study.BMJ open · 2016Trial
- Increase in plasma phylloquinone concentrations following acupoint injection for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.Journal of acupuncture and meridian studies · 2014Trial
- Clinical effectiveness and economic evaluation of acupoint injection for the treatment of primary insomnia: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2026Article
- Management practices of primary dysmenorrhea among female high school students in Nekemte town, East Wallaga Zone, Western Oromia, Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Metabonomic Study of the Effect of Dingkundan Intervention Comparing with Oral Contraceptives on Primary Dysmenorrhea Using the UPLC-MS Technique.BioMed research international · 2022Article
- Analgesia Effect of Verum and Sham Acupuncture Treatments in Primary Dysmenorrhea: A MRI Pilot Study.Journal of personalized medicine · 2021Article
- Article
- The Effect ofIranian journal of pharmaceutical research : IJPR · 2017Article
- Research designs for proof-of-concept chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations.Pain · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
contextDysmenorrhea, the occurrence of painful menstrual cramping of the uterus, is a major cause of activity restriction and absences from school and work among young women. Standard pharmaceuticals used to treat dysmenorrhea are not effective for all women and have side effects that limit their use. Studies elsewhere have shown beneficial effects for use of vitamin K1 as an acupoint treatment, but the acceptability of this treatment to women in the United States has been unknown.
objectiveThe study intended to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of acupuncture point injection of vitamin K1 as an alternative treatment for primary dysmenorrhea among US women.
designThe research team conducted a pilot study using a blinded, randomized, crossover trial design.
settingThe study took place at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
participantsThe study was conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area among women 18 to 25 y of age who had been diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhea. Fourteen women completed all of the study's visits.
interventionWomen with primary dysmenorrhea were randomized into 2 groups to receive bilateral injections of vitamin K1 in the Spleen-6 (SP-6) acupuncture point at the start of menstruation and then, following a 2-mo washout period, saline in a nonacupuncture point at the start of menstruation. One group received the vitamin K1 injection first, while the other group received the saline injection first. OUTCOME MEASURE: Dysmenorrhea pain intensity was measured using a 0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS), before and after injections.
resultsWomen had an average 2.5-point decrease in pain after a vitamin K1 injection in the SP-6 acupoint (P < .001), as compared with a 1.8-point decrease after a saline injection (P < .001). Change scores for vitamin K1, as compared with a saline injection, approached statistical significance (P < .10). Intensity and duration of menstrual symptoms, as measured by the Cox retrospective symptom scale, also decreased following injections. After participating, 94% of the women remained agreeable to receiving the injection therapy, and 77% reported they would come every month were the treatment available.
conclusionsFindings suggested high acceptability for an acupuncture point injection of vitamin K1 as treatment for primary dysmenorrhea among young women in San Francisco. Pain decreased with both treatments, with a trend toward greater pain reduction for the vitamin K1/SP-6 injection. This finding is consistent with outcomes from the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Shanghai, China, where the protocol was developed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
24445356PMC3898591W9543822What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.