Successful Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea by Collateral Meridian Acupressure Therapy

Received 12 August 2008; received in revised form 6 April 2009; accepted 24 April 2009.

Abstract

Objectives

This case report describes the observation of relief from painful dysmenorrhea and its associated symptoms in a female patient having primary dysmenorrhea after collateral meridian acupressure therapy (CMAT) treatment.

Clinical features

A 36-year-old female patient presented with primary dysmenorrhea (abdominal cramping and referred lower back pain). She previously had taken oral analgesic pills to alleviate her symptoms during the menstrual period. The observation period was 6 months.

Intervention and outcome

Collateral meridian acupressure therapy was performed once on the second day of both the first (partial treatment) and fourth (complete treatment) menstrual period. Pain was resolved immediately after partial CMAT treatment during the first menstrual period, but the pain recurred 20 minutes later. Satisfactory results were obtained during the fourth menstrual period after complete CMAT treatment, which were also carried over to the next session (fifth menstrual period). In addition, no oral analgesics were necessary after treatment. However, the symptoms of dysmenorrhea recurred 2 months after treatment (sixth menstrual period).

Conclusion

This case report indicates that CMAT treatment may be effective in relieving the associated symptoms of dysmenorrhea. The carryover effect might suggest that there is a potential to produce a long-lasting effect on dysmenorrhea.

Key Indexing Terms: Acupressure, Dysmenorrhea, Uterus

a Doctoral Student, Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

b Attending Physician, Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

c Professor and Attending Physician, Department of Anesthesiology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

d Associate Professor, School of Public Health, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan

e Chairman, Painless Ginza Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

f Staff Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesiology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center

g Medical Student, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Ill

h Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

i Professor, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University

Submit requests for reprints to: Ta-Liang Chen, MD, PhD, Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, No. 250, Wusing Street, Sinyi District 110, Taipei, Taiwan

PII: S0161-4754(09)00299-1

doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2009.11.003

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