Clinical Study on Dry Needling for Primary Dysmenorrhea and Its Preliminary Correlation With Acupoints

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

TrP-DN and Acupuncture: Treatment is conducted by pain specialists and acupuncturists, each having over 5 years of relevant work experience. The treatment occurs within the three weeks leading up to menstruation, administered once a week for a total of three sessions. Additionally, participants are to engage in abdominal stretching exercises starting from the treatment day. These exercises are to be done 3-5 times daily, with each session lasting approximately 2 minutes, and this regimen is to continue for one month. If participants experience significant pain during menstruation, they may take NSAIDs orally for symptomatic relief.

Study summary

Primary dysmenorrhea refers to menstrual pain not caused by pelvic organic lesions, commonly seen in young women, significantly affecting patients' quality of life. Dry needling therapy targeting myofascial trigger points for primary dysmenorrhea has been preliminarily applied in clinical settings. However, related research is limited with questionable quality, hindering its widespread clinical application. Furthermore, is there a connection between myofascial trigger points in dry needling and acupuncture acupoints in terms of selection and mechanism of action? Could this be a new interpretation of acupuncture theory? These are important questions that have garnered widespread attention. This study employs a randomized patient-blinded controlled design, enrolling primary dysmenorrhea patients aged 18 to 30 years. They are randomly divided into three groups: the trigger point dry needling group, traditional acupuncture treatment group, and trigger point sham needle (placebo) group. Changes in pain levels, quality of life scores, inflammatory factor levels, and local blood flow before and after treatment among the three groups are observed. The aim is to assess the therapeutic effects of dry needling trigger points and acupuncture treatments on primary dysmenorrhea and explore their potential mechanisms of action. By comparing the differences and similarities between dry needling trigger points and acupuncture treatments in terms of acupoint selection, treatment effects, and potential mechanisms of action, this study seeks to preliminarily explore the feasibility of integrating trigger point theory into the meridian 'acupoint' theory, laying the foundation for a modern interpretation of acupuncture

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• mean intensity of pain — menstrual cycle before treatment, the month after treatment, the second month after treatment,
  Participants are asked to mark their intensity of pain using Visual Analog Scale during period time a 100mm horizontal line, with the ends of the line representing the extreme expressions of pain (no pain to maximum pain).The mean intensity of all days with menstrual pain is used for the analysis

Trial sites (2)

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