The Effect of Relaxation and Stretching Exercises on Pain and Quality of Life in Women With Primary Dysmenorrhea

September 10, 2025 updated by: Yeditepe University
The study aimed to examine the effect of stretching and relaxation exercises on pain and quality of life in women with primary dysmenorrhea.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

While dysmenorrhea is a frequent gynecologic condition that affects women of reproductive age, young women are generally unaware of it. Dysmenorrhea is divided into two main types based on its pathophysiology:

  • Primary dysmenorrhea (PD), is menstrual discomfort coupled with regular ovulatory cycles and a defined physiological explanation. Adolescents and young adults are the most affected.
  • Secondary dysmenorrhea (SD), is defined as menstruation discomfort caused by a disease (endometriosis, fibroids, adenomyosis, pelvic adhesions, endometrial polyps, pelvic inflammatory disease) or the use of an intrauterine contraceptive device.

Dysmenorrhea is a type of persistent, cyclic pelvic pain that can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, exhaustion, back pain, and dizziness. In studies conducted on university students in Turkey in 2009 and 2010, 87.7% and 72.7% (respectively) of the students reported that they had pain during the menstrual period.

The release of prostaglandins into the uterine tissue is assumed to be the cause of dysmenorrhea. As a result, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the usual first-line treatment for dysmenorrhea. Oral contraceptives, acupuncture, acupressure, yoga, and vitamin B1 are among the additional treatments that have been suggested.

It has been suggested that exercise can help with dysmenorrhea. Physical exercise has been suggested as a medical treatment for the treatment of dysmenorrhea and related symptoms by several writers. Billig was one of the first to advocate for exercise as a treatment for dysmenorrhea; he devised a set of stretching exercises and found a reduction in dysmenorrheic symptoms.

H1: There is a significant difference in pain and quality of life in the group with stretching and relaxation exercises compared to the group with stretching exercises.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Ataşehir/İstanbul
      • Istanbul, Ataşehir/İstanbul, Turkey (Türkiye), 34755
        • Yeditepe University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • participants in the study voluntarily.
  • participants in ages between 18-25 years of age.
  • participants have a sedentary lifestyle.
  • participant's pain intensity of more than 40 mm during the menstrual period according to the VAS.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • using regular drugs like NSAIDs
  • presence of SD
  • having an irregular menstrual cycle
  • presence of chronic disease.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: The Experimental Group

The experimental group will be given both stretching and relaxation exercises. Among the stretching exercises, iliopsoas, adductor, and hamstring stretches will be taught.

Deep breathing exercises will be taught as relaxation exercises. Participants will repeat the stretches 3 times a week with 3 repetitions of each stretch for 20 seconds.
Other: Stretching

Among the stretching exercises, iliopsoas, adductor, and hamstring stretches will be taught. Participants will repeat the stretches 3 times a week with 3 repetitions of each stretch for 20 seconds. The exercises will be done online by the physiotherapist.

The experimental group will be given both stretching and relaxation exercises. The Control group will be given only stretching exercises.

Other: Relaxation
Diaphragmatic breathing will be taught as a relaxation exercise. The experimental group will be given both stretching and relaxation exercises. The Control group will be given only stretching exercises.
Active Comparator: The Control group

The Control group will be given only stretching exercises. Among the stretching exercises, iliopsoas, adductor, and hamstring stretches will be taught.

Participants will repeat the stretches 3 times a week with 3 repetitions of each stretch for 20 seconds.
Other: Stretching

Among the stretching exercises, iliopsoas, adductor, and hamstring stretches will be taught. Participants will repeat the stretches 3 times a week with 3 repetitions of each stretch for 20 seconds. The exercises will be done online by the physiotherapist.

The experimental group will be given both stretching and relaxation exercises. The Control group will be given only stretching exercises.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Visual Analogue Scale
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Participants will be evaluated their menstrual pain levels on the Visual Analogue Scale between 0 and 10.
4 weeks
The Menstruation Symptom Questionnaire
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Participants will rate their menstrual distress using the Menstrual Symptom Scale. The minimum score on this scale is 22, while the maximum score is 110. We can see that the lower the score in the questionnaire, the fewer problems the person has during the menstrual period.
4 weeks
Short Form 12 Health Survey
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Participants will be evaluated their health-related quality of life using the Short Form 12 Health Survey. It is seen that the higher the score in the questionnaire, the higher the quality of life of the person.
4 weeks
Measurement with Algometer
Time Frame: 4 weeks
Algometer measures the pain threshold, and in the study, it will be checked whether the pain thresholds changed with the exercises performed by the participants.
4 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Yeditepe University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Pelin Zöhre, Pt, Yeditepe University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 30, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

August 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 26, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

July 27, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

September 11, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 10, 2025

Last Verified

September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pyeditepe

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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