SynthesisBMC complementary and alternative medicine2019
The effectiveness of self-care and lifestyle interventions in primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC complementary and alternative medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Effect of a Semi-Presence Yoga Program, With Virtual Tutorized Home Tracking, on Dysmenorrhea in University Students: Randomized an Controlled Clinical Trial Protocol.
Effectiveness of Non-invasive Neuromodulation in Primary Dysmenhorrea: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical activity for psychological and physical well-being in menstruating individuals: an integrative review.BMC women's health · 2026Pooled it
- Burden, impacts and management practices of dysmenorrhea among female students in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.International health · 2025Pooled it
- Menstrual disturbances and its association with sleep disturbances: a systematic review.BMC women's health · 2023Pooled it
- Exercise for dysmenorrhoea.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Comparison of two different Pilates exercise methods in women with dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Menstrual Pain Management, School Absenteeism and Educational Performance Among Adolescent Students: Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Analysis Nested Within a Cluster Randomised Trial.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2026Trial
- The Effect of Aviva Exercise Intervention on Pain Level and Body Awareness in Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Trial
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug resistance in dysmenorrhea: a study of prevalence, predictors, and alternative pain management among Nigerian female students.Reproductive health · 2026Article
- Dietary Acid Load, Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index, and Literature-Based Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Score Relationship With Primary Dysmenorrhea.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Physical agents' level in women with primary dysmenorrhea: A cross-sectional observational study.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Observational
- Evaluating the Therapeutic Effects ofPediatric health, medicine and therapeutics · 2026Review
- Efficacy of ginger and fennel in relieving primary dysmenorrhea: A triple-blind crossover controlled trial.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Article
- Effects of Pilates and Yoga on Pain Intensity, Absenteeism, Quality of Life, and Sleep Quality among Primary Dysmenorrhea School Students.Indian journal of community medicine : official publication of Indian Association of Preventive & Social Medicine · 2025Article
- Mediating role of health literacy in self-care among female college students with menstrual symptoms: a cross-sectional study.Nagoya journal of medical science · 2025Article
- Self-Care in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Multicenter Study.Crohn's & colitis 360 · 2025Article
- Article
- Adolescents, menstruation, and physical activity: insights from a global scoping review.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- TREATMENT METHODS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS PRIMARY DYSMENORRHEA AMONG CROATIAN STUDENTS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.Acta clinica Croatica · 2025Article
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 at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMenstrual pain is very common amongst young women. Despite the significant impact that menstrual pain has on academic attendance and performance, social activities and quality of life, most young women do not seek medical treatment but prefer to use self-care; commonly OTC analgesic medications and rest. Many women do not get significant pain relief from these methods, therefore other low cost, easy to learn self-care methods may be a valuable approach to management. This review and meta-analysis examines the evidence for participant lead self-care techniques.
methodsA search of Medline, PsychINFO, Google Scholar and CINAHL was carried out in September 2017.
resultsTwenty-three trials including 2302 women were eligible and included in the meta-analysis. Studies examined self-delivered acupressure, exercise and heat as interventions. Risk of bias was unclear for many domains. All interventions showed a reduction in menstrual pain symptoms; exercise (g = 2.16, 95% CI 0.97 to 3.35) showed the largest effect size, with heat (g = 0.73, 95% CI 0.06 to 1.40) and acupressure (g = 0.56, 95% CI 0.10 to 1.03) showing more moderate effect sizes. Exercise (g = 0.48, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.83) and heat (g = 0.48, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.87), were more effective than analgesics in reducing pain intensity, whereas acupressure was significantly less effective (g = - 0.76, 95% CI -1.37 to - 0.15).
conclusionExercise showed large effects, while acupressure and heat showed moderate effects in reducing menstrual pain compared to no treatment. Both exercise and heat are potential alternatives to analgesic medication. However, difficulties in controlling for non-specific effects, along with potential for bias, may influence study findings.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.