Prevalence, Severity of Dysmenorrhea and Effectiveness of Structured Physiotherapy Interventions Among Doctor of Physical Therapy Students (DPTDYS)
11 août 2026 mis à jour par: Imran Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan
Prevalence, Severity of Dysmenorrhea and Effectiveness of Structured Physiotherapy Interventions Among Doctor of Physical Therapy Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
**Trial Summary**
Primary dysmenorrhea is a common condition among young women that can significantly impair daily functioning and health-related quality of life. This single-center randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a 12-week structured physiotherapy program in 360 female Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students with primary dysmenorrhea. Participants were randomly allocated to either a structured physiotherapy intervention (n=180) or a control group receiving conventional treatment (n=180). The intervention consisted of supervised sessions three times per week, including general stretching, pelvic stretching, aerobic jogging, Kegel exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation. The primary outcome was the change in dysmenorrhea symptoms over three consecutive menstrual cycles, while secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. Compared with the control group, participants receiving structured physiotherapy demonstrated significant reductions in all assessed dysmenorrhea symptoms and significant improvements in physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perception, and vitality. Greater dysmenorrhea severity was associated with poorer quality-of-life scores, and structured physiotherapy independently predicted clinical improvement. The findings indicate that a structured multimodal physiotherapy program is an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing the severity of primary dysmenorrhea and improving selected domains of health-related quality of life in female DPT students.
Aperçu de l'étude
Statut
Complété
Les conditions
Intervention / Traitement
Type d'étude
Interventionnel
Inscription (Réel)
360
Phase
- N'est pas applicable
Contacts et emplacements
Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.
Lieux d'étude
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Multan Khurd, Pakistan, 66000
- Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences Multan
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Critères de participation
Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.
Critère d'éligibilité
Âges éligibles pour étudier
- Adulte
Accepte les volontaires sains
Non
La description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Inclusion criteria were: regularly menstruating female DPT students aged 18-30 years; self-reported and clinically confirmed primary dysmenorrhea (pain commencing within 1-2 days of menstrual onset with no identifiable pelvic pathology); history of primary dysmenorrhea for at least the past four cycles with pain intensity ≥4 on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Females who had sedentary lifestyle (engaging in <25 minutes of physical activity thrice weekly) and showed willingness to provide informed consent to participate in the study.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Students with irregular menstrual cycles or secondary dysmenorrhea or diagnosed conditions such as endometriosis, amenorrhea, or other gynecological disorders; use of medications that could influence menstrual pain or cycle regularity, neuromuscular or chronic degenerative diseases; physical limitations impeding exercise participation; pregnancy or postpartum status during the study period. Not wanted to take part in the research.
Plan d'étude
Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.
Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?
Détails de conception
- Objectif principal: Traitement
- Répartition: Randomisé
- Modèle interventionnel: Affectation parallèle
- Masquage: Seul
Armes et Interventions
Groupe de participants / Bras |
Intervention / Traitement |
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Expérimental: Structured Physiotherapy Program
Participants received a structured physiotherapy program in addition to conventional treatment for 12 weeks.
The intervention consisted of supervised sessions three times per week, with each 50-minute session including general stretching, specific pelvic stretching (Billig protocol), moderate-intensity aerobic jogging, Kegel exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation.
The program was designed to reduce dysmenorrhea symptoms and improve health-related quality of life.
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Participants received a supervised structured physiotherapy program three times per week for 12 weeks in addition to conventional treatment.
Each 50-minute session consisted of five components: general stretching, specific pelvic stretching (Billig protocol), moderate-intensity aerobic jogging (60-70% of age-predicted maximum heart rate), Kegel exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation.
The intervention was designed to reduce the severity of primary dysmenorrhea and improve health-related quality of life.
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Comparateur actif: Conventional Treatment
Participants received conventional treatment for primary dysmenorrhea according to routine clinical practice for 12 weeks.
They continued their usual daily activities and did not participate in the structured physiotherapy program.
This arm served as the active comparator to evaluate the effectiveness of the structured physiotherapy intervention.
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Participants received conventional medical treatment for primary dysmenorrhea according to routine clinical practice throughout the 12-week study period.
Conventional management included the use of standard analgesic or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications as prescribed by the treating physician.
Participants continued their usual daily activities and did not receive the structured physiotherapy intervention.
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Que mesure l'étude ?
Principaux critères de jugement
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
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Pain Intensity (VAS)
Délai: 12 weeks
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The main outcome measure was pain intensity during menstruation, which was evaluated via Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
The Visual Analogue Scale consists of a horizontal line 10 cm long with the labels of "no pain at all" and "unbearable pain" on both sides.
Participants were asked to draw a line on the scale showing how much pain they felt and this number was measured in centimeters from "no pain" side of the scale.
Numbers between 1-3 cm reflected mild dysmenorrhea, numbers between 4-7 cm reflected moderate dysmenorrhea, while numbers from 8-10 cm reflected severe dysmenorrhea
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12 weeks
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Mesures de résultats secondaires
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
|---|---|---|
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Dysmenorrhea Severity (MSS)
Délai: 12 weeks
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Multidimensional Scoring System (MSS) was employed as a secondary outcome measure to classify the dysmenorrhea in a multidimensional manner according to the level of abdominal pain, activity restriction, and requirement for painkiller drugs.
Dysmenorrhea is classified by MSS into three levels depending upon the severity of abdominal pain, activity restriction, and need of taking analgesic drugs, namely mild, moderate, and severe.
MSS score was determined at the baseline and end of each menstrual cycle throughout the trial period, as it was for the VAS scoring procedure.
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12 weeks
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Health-Related Quality of Life (SF-36)
Délai: 12 weeks
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The secondary outcome measure for the assessment of HRQoL involved the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire.
SF-36 is the most commonly used and validated generic instrument for assessing HRQoL, with high reliability and responsiveness that have been shown through numerous studies.
The instrument includes 36 questions, divided into eight scales: physical functioning, role limitations because of physical difficulties (role-physical), bodily pain, general health perceptions, vitality, social functioning, role limitations because of emotional problems (role-emotional), and mental health.
Scores for each scale range from 0 to 100; the higher scores are, the better HRQoL patients have.
Patients underwent SF-36 at baseline (week 0) and week 12 (endpoint) of the study in order to evaluate the impact of the structured physiotherapy intervention on their HRQoL.
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12 weeks
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Collaborateurs et enquêteurs
C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.
Les enquêteurs
- Chercheur principal: Imran A Khan, PhD, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan
- Directeur d'études: Maliha K Khan, DPT, MSPH, Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences Multan
Publications et liens utiles
La personne responsable de la saisie des informations sur l'étude fournit volontairement ces publications. Il peut s'agir de tout ce qui concerne l'étude.
Publications générales
- Itani R, Soubra L, Karout S, Rahme D, Karout L, Khojah HMJ. Primary dysmenorrhea: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment updates. Korean J Fam Med. 2022;43(2):101-108. 2. Iacovides S, Avidon I, Baker FC. What we know about primary dysmenorrhea today: a critical review. Hum Reprod Update. 2015;21(6):762-778. 3. Karout S, Soubra L, Rahme D, Karout L, Khojah HMJ, Itani R. Prevalence, risk factors, and management practices of primary dysmenorrhea among young females. BMC Womens Health. 2021;21:392. 4. Dar M, Khan A, Shah SS, Aleem A, Jaber AAS, Hussain M, Khan GM. Evaluation of health-related quality of life of female students suffering from primary dysmenorrhea: findings of a cross-sectional study from Pakistan. Front Public Health. 2025;13:1467377. 5. Kamel DM, Tantawy SA, Abdelsamea GA. Experience of dysmenorrhea among a group of physical therapy students from Cairo University: an exploratory study. J Pain Res. 2017;10:1079-1085. 6. Kannan P, Claydon LS. Some physiotherapy treatments may relieve menstrual pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review. J Physiother. 2014;60(1):13-21. 7. Matthewman G, Lee A, Kaur JG, Daley AJ. Physical activity for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;219(3):255.e1-255.e20. 8. Tsai IC, Hsu CW, Chang CH, Lei WT, Tseng PT, Chang KV. Comparative effectiveness of different exercises for reducing pain intensity in primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sports Med Open. 2024;10:62. 9. Proctor M, Farquhar C. Diagnosis and management of dysmenorrhoea. BMJ. 2006;332(7550):1134-1138. 10. Marjoribanks J, Ayeleke RO, Farquhar C, Proctor M. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;2015(7):CD001751. 11. Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988. 12. Faul F, Erdfeld
Dates d'enregistrement des études
Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.
Dates principales de l'étude
Début de l'étude (Réel)
2 février 2026
Achèvement primaire (Réel)
30 juin 2026
Achèvement de l'étude (Réel)
30 juin 2026
Dates d'inscription aux études
Première soumission
7 août 2026
Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
7 août 2026
Première publication (Réel)
12 août 2026
Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude
Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)
13 août 2026
Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
11 août 2026
Dernière vérification
1 août 2026
Plus d'information
Termes liés à cette étude
Mots clés
Autres numéros d'identification d'étude
- MNSUAM/05/28/IAK
Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)
Prévoyez-vous de partager les données individuelles des participants (DPI) ?
NON
Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude
Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine
Non
Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine
Non
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