2020 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The current evidence suggests that acupuncture and moxibustion is more effective than ibuprofen or Fenbid in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea.

This overview provided a comprehensive overview of the evidence on the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture and moxibustion for PD. Evidence of moderate quality suggested that acupuncture and moxibustion had a positive effect on indomethacin or Fenbid in treating PD. Low-quality evidence showed that compared to NSAIDs, acupuncture and moxibustion could relieve PD related pain with less adverse effects, which needs to be further researched. The adverse effects related to the acupuncture and moxibustion were mild, and they included dizziness, fainting, or minimal bleeding after acupuncture.

Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture and Moxibustion for Primary Dysmenorrhea: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Jun Yang, Jun Xiong, Ting Yuan, Xue Wang, Yunfeng Jiang, Xiaohong Zhou, Kai Liao, Lingling Xu

2018 Medicine

Acupuncture might reduce menstrual pain and associated symptoms more effectively compared to no treatment or NSAIDs.

The results of this study suggest that acupuncture might reduce menstrual pain and associated symptoms more effectively compared to no treatment or NSAIDs, and the efficacy could be maintained during a short-term follow-up period. Despite limitations due to the low quality and methodological restrictions of the included studies, acupuncture might be used as an effective and safe treatment for females with primary dysmenorrhea.

The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in women with primary dysmenorrhea Woo HL, Ji HR, Pak YK, Lee H, Heo SJ, Lee JM, Park KS

2018 Reproductive Health

Endometriosis, often seen as benign, is linked to infertility and metastatic cancer, and shows different risk factors and treatment responses in Asian and European-American women.

The research studied endometriosis in Chinese women, thoroughly examining genetic and environmental risk factors, diagnosis strategies, treatment methods and their effects. It particularly focused on the presence and impact of various genetic mutations and polymorphisms that may increase endometriosis risk in this demographic. Comparison was drawn between the data from Asian and European-American women, studying the contrast in risk factors and how each group responds to treatment.

In analysing their results, researchers discovered endometriosis, while largely viewed as a benign condition, may in fact be a significant cause of infertility and metastatic cancer and has links with immune system function. Furthermore, the comparative study revealed clear distinctions in risk factors and treatment responses between Asian and European-American female populations. Additionally, when examining the efficacy of Western medicine compared to traditional Chinese medicine for treating endometriosis in the Chinese population, noteworthy data were highlighted.

A review of the risk factors, genetics and treatment of endometriosis in Chinese women: a comparative update Dai Y, Li X, Shi J, Leng J

2017 BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Acupoint-stimulation can relieve pain effectively in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea and offers advantages compared with treatment by NSAIDs.

The current evidence reveals that acupoint-stimulation in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea has some obvious advantages compared with treatment by NSAIDs. The advantages are that acupoint-stimulation can alleviate the symptoms of dysmenorrhoea, reduce the level of peripheral blood PGF2α and has fewer side effect, so it can be used to treat primary dysmenorrhea patients, especially individuals with NSAIDs contraindication.

Effects of acupoint-stimulation for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea compared with NSAIDs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 RCTs Xu, Y., Zhao, W., Li, T. et al.

2016 Journal of Pain Research

Acupuncture could be tried as a complement in the treatment of pain in endometriosis as it is an overall safe treatment.

Based on the analysis in the presented review, there are grounds to believe that acupuncture can relieve pain in some patients. The effects of acupuncture as a pain-relieving treatment has in various studies been presented as an overall safe alternative treatment with very few and small (harmless) side effects, and furthermore with no effect on the environment. It could therefore also be regarded as a ‘sustainable’ treatment. In the future, studies designed for evaluating effectiveness between different types of treatment strategies, rather than efficacy design would be preferred to analyze treatment effects in individual patients.

Is acupuncture effective in the treatment of pain in endometriosis? Lund I, Lundeberg T

2016 Maturitas

Meta-analysis showed that Danggui Shaoyao San had superior effects compared to analgesics for treating primary dysmenorrhea.

A total of 746 potentially relevant studies were identified, and four RCTs met our inclusion criteria. All of the included RCTs had a high risk of bias across their domains. Three RCTs showed favourable effects of DSS on response rate compared with conventional medicine, and a meta-analysis showed that DSS had superior effects compared to analgesics. One RCT showed a beneficial effect of DSS on pain compared with placebo control. Our systematic review and meta-analysis provided suggestive evidence of the superiority of DSS over analgesics or placebo for dysmenorrhea. The quality of evidence for this finding was low to moderate because of a high risk of bias.

Herbal medicine (Danggui Shaoyao San) for treating primary dysmenorrhea: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials Hye Won Lee, Ji Hee Jun, Ki-Jung Kil, Byong-Seob Ko, Choong Hwan Lee, Myeong Soo Lee

2016 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

The review found limited consistent evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for relieving menstrual pain compared to sham treatments or other interventions.

This passage provides a summary of the main results of a review on the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupressure in managing primary dysmenorrhoea (menstrual pain) in women. The review includes 42 trials involving 4640 women. The primary outcome, which is pain relief, showed no consistent difference between women receiving acupuncture and those receiving a sham control (simulated treatment). However, limited evidence suggested a benefit for acupuncture compared to NSAIDs, Chinese herbs, and other treatments. Acupressure had limited evidence of benefit compared to a sham control. Secondary outcomes, including menstrual symptoms and quality of life, did not consistently show a benefit from acupuncture. The trials had various limitations, such as incomplete reporting of outcomes, short follow-up periods, and variations in eligibility criteria. The quality of reporting was generally poor, and many trials were at high risk of bias. The overall quality of evidence for pain relief and menstrual symptoms was considered low. Other reviews on this topic found promising evidence for acupuncture, but results were influenced by methodological flaws in the trials.

Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea Smith CA, Armour M, Zhu X, Li X, Lu ZY, Song J

2015 Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies

Acupressure showed evidence of pain relief while acupuncture improved both the mental and the physical components of quality of life associated with primary dysmenorrhea.

This study involved three reviewers who dependently and independently performed study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction and management. Several interventions indicated statistical significance. Insights into the efficacies of the interventions were identified in correlation to themselves and with one another. The systematic review highlighted promising evidence in the form of studies done to establish the effectiveness of acupuncture and acupressure in the management of primary dysmenorrhea. However, the results were limited and had methodological flaws. The review and the meta-analysis indicated that acupressure significantly reduced the pain associated with primary dysmenorrhea and that acupuncture improved both the physical and the mental components of quality of life. The magnitude of these effects may or may not be clinically worthwhile, but as the costs and the risks of these interventions is low, these results may be clinically useful.

As Acupressure Decreases Pain, Acupuncture May Improve Some Aspects of Quality of Life for Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis Abaraogu UO, Tabansi-Ochuogu CS

2011 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Acupuncture shows potential for reducing dysmenorrhoea scores in endometriosis patients.

Endometriosis is a prevalent gynaecological condition that significantly affects women's lives, often leading to chronic pelvic pain and dysmenorrhoea. However, the current management of pain in endometriosis is inadequate. Acupuncture has been studied in gynaecological disorders, but its effectiveness for pain in endometriosis remains uncertain. Researchers conducted a systematic review to determine the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for pain in endometriosis. Out of twenty-four identified studies on acupuncture for endometriosis, only one trial met the inclusion criteria. The study showed that acupuncture, particularly auricular acupuncture, may reduce dysmenorrhoea scores and be more effective than Chinese herbal medicine. However, due to the limited evidence from only one study, more well-designed, double-blinded, randomized controlled trials comparing various types of acupuncture with conventional therapies are needed to draw stronger conclusions about acupuncture's efficacy in managing pain in endometriosis.

Acupuncture for pain in endometriosis Zhu X, Hamilton KD, McNicol ED

2010 Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica

Acupuncture-related therapies may have potential as an intervention for primary dysmenorrhea.

This passage provides a systematic review of studies on acupuncture-related therapies for primary dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain). The review included 32 trials with a total of 3,910 patients. These trials compared acupuncture, acupressure, and moxibustion to various control treatments. The results showed conflicting findings regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture-related therapies, with one trial suggesting acupuncture was significantly more effective than control groups. However, the review also identified several limitations in the trials, including issues with study design, outcome measures, trial heterogeneity, and potential publication bias. The authors suggest that while acupuncture-related therapies may hold promise for treating dysmenorrhea, further well-designed trials are needed to provide more definitive evidence. They also recommend improvements in study methodologies and the application of international outcome measures for more accurate and comparable results.

Systematic review of clinical trials of acupuncture-related therapies for primary dysmenorrhea Yang, H., Liu, C.-Z., Chen, X., Ma, L.-X., Xie, J.-P., Guo, N.-N., Ma, Z.-B., Zheng, Y.-Y., Zhu, J., & Liu, J.-P.