Acupressure, a Chinese medicine technique similar to acupuncture, would relieve the intensity of period pain. It is halved after six months, for 58% of women who have tried it.
“Dysmenorrhea” is their medical name: painful periods affect 50 to 70% of adolescent girls. Often, they disappear or diminish over the years. Sometimes they reveal the existence of a disease, such as endometriosis. In all cases, they can be disabling. Researchers from the Charity University of Medicine in Berlin are interested in the effectiveness of acupressure, a method of traditional Chinese medicine, close to acupuncture, to relieve pain. Their study shows that these practices are effective, all the more so when they are supervised by the use of a dedicated application.
An effective technique for more than half of women
Abdominal pain, headaches, diarrhea, back pain and even nausea are the main period pains. To relieve these symptoms, German researchers tested acupressure on a group of women between the ages of 18 and 34. They were 221 in total: some of them tested this technique, the other used more traditional treatments such as painkillers or hormonal contraception. Unlike acupuncture, acupressure is performed on its own. It is enough to massage or simply to apply pressure on certain parts of the body. 37% of those who have tried acupressure feel pain halved after three months. After six months, they are 58%. In the other group, they are only 25% and this, at three and six months.
An application to supervise the practice
“Initially, we just wanted to conduct a study on the use of self-care techniques for periods. But the women who participated in the preparatory stages, all concerned by menstrual pain, asked for an application”, explains Claudia Witt , one of the main authors of the study. The researchers therefore completed their clinical trial by using an application, even if its use was not at the heart of the study. Her name is Luna and helps women to perform acupressure techniques on three specific points of the body. It makes it possible to better understand the different gestures, but also to provide reminders to the patients, in particular according to the periods of the cycle. At the moment, the app is only available in German.
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