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Introduction: Dysmenorrhea is one of the most prevalent complaints of women which is due to Prostaglandin release and is treated by chemical drugs. Today regarding side effects of these drugs, scientists are increasingly moving toward using herbal drugs. This study is planned to comparison the effects of Thymus Vulgaris and Mefenamic acid on primary dysmenorrhea.
Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial study. Target population was women suffering from primary dysmenorrhea and study population was women reffering to marriage consulting center. Based on α=0/5, β=0/20, sample size was calculated 214 which were divided into two groups randomly. Samples were asked to determine their pain severity before using the drug, by a visual scale (0-10cm). In the study group each sample cosumed 15 grams Thyme leaf brewed in a glass of water and in control group samples used 250mg Mefenamic acid capsules. Then pain severity was determined again 1, 2 and 3 hours after using drugs. Data was analysed by mean and standard deviation indexes and K-S, man-whitney and chi-square tests. Helsinki declaration was regarded at all stages of the research.
Results: Pain severity mean, before using the two drugs had no significant difference between groups. In each group, pain severity was significantly decreased before and after using the drug (p=0.05). But the rate of decreasing pain between the two groups showed no significant difference.
Conclusion: Regarding results, it seems both Mefenamic acid and Thymus Vulgaris decrease pain at the same level which seems to be due to Thyme,s antiprostaglandin and antispasmodic effects.

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Background: Primary dismenorrhea or painful menstruation, in the absence of any specific pelvic diseases, is one of the most common complaints in women’s medicine. The main goal of this study is to examine the effect of isometric trainings on primary dismenorrhea. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental Stud, 30 female students from Payame-noor and Azad Universities in Golpaygan were randomly assigned into two exercise and non-exercise groups. The exercise group did 8 weeks of isometric exercises under the supervision of a physical education expert. The trainees were examined based on the intensity and duration of pain, the amount of bleeding, and consumption of drugs in the first period of menstruation (pre-test), the second period of menstruation (mid-test) and the third period of menstruation ( post-test ). Results: Intensity of pain in the exercise group decreased after 4 weeks (p<0.05) while the duration of pain declined after 4 weeks (p<0.05) and 8 weeks (p<0.01). Also, the amount of taken drugs decreased after 8 weeks of exercise (p<0.05), but the degree of bleeding did not change significantly (p>0.05). Conclusion: Isometric exercises decreased intensity and duration of pain, and the amount of drugs taken in primary dismenorrhea. Therefore, such exercises can probably be used in the treatment of primary dismenorrhea.

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Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most prevalent disorders in women which results in their decreased efficacy. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of pressure on the third liver point on involved liver channel symptoms in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 194 students that met the inclusion criteria. In the first cycle, symptoms of involved liver channel were identified. Accordingly, participants were randomly allotted to either treatment or control groups. In the second, third and fourth cycles, acupressure was applied to the third liver point and placebo point for 20 minutes 3-7 days before menstruation. With bleeding in the fourth cycle, the symptoms of involved liver channel were determined. Results: In the first cycle, there were no significant differences in symptoms of involved liver channel between the two groups however, in the fourth cycle, the results of Chi2 test showed significant differences between the two groups in all symptoms of involved liver channel except the tongue with red spots (p<0.05). In the treatment group, a comparison of the first and the fourth cycle revealed significant differences in all symptoms of involved liver channel except for tongue with red spots (p<0.05). Conclusion: In this study, applying pressure to the third liver point was effective in the improvement of the majority of involved liver channel symptoms therefore, acupressure is suggested as a practical, effective, non-expensive, and available method in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea.

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Background: Dysmenorrhea is seen in nearly 5% of women with regular menstruation. In this regard, different methods have been proposed for treatment of dysmenorrhea, and drugs with fewer side effects are preferred. Hence, this study was done to detect the effect of echinophora- platyloba on primary dysmenorrhea. Materials and Methods: In a single-blind clinical trial, 60 students with primary dysmenorrhea were evaluated at Shahr-e-Kord University of Medical Sciences. The students were randomly divided into two groups of 30 each: Echinophora-platyloba extract and placebo. Data collection was done through visual analogue scale for detecting the intensity of pain. At the end of first and second months after treatment, the intensity of pain was determined in the two groups and compared with that before the intervention. Eventually, the data were analyzed through Chi square, t-test and Mann-Whitney test. Results: The means of dysmenorrhea severity scores two months before administering the drug in echinophora-platyloba and placebo groups were 8.46±2.75 and 8.80±2.53, respectively. Here the difference was not significant however, after administering the drug, the mean scores in intervention and non-intervention groups were 3.41±1.12 and 7.82±2.60, respectively, which indicated a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001) . Conclusion: Both echinophora-platyloba extract and the placebo could reduce the severity of dysmenorrhea during the treatment, yet the effect of echinophora-platyloba was much greater than the placebo. Thus, the use of echinophora-platyloba extract is suggested in treatment of dysmenorrhea.

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Background: Primary dysmenorrheal is one of the most common gynecologic diseases. This study was carried out to compare the effects of omega-3 and vitamin E on the treatment of primary dysmenorrheal. Materials and Methods: In a randomized double-blind clinical trial, 80 female students from high schools in Arak, Iran, were selected by simple sampling and randomly divided into two identical groups in 2010. Omega-3 group received one omega-3 capsule (500 mg) per day while the vitamin E group received one vitamin E capsule (400IU) every other day for 60 days. Intensity of pain, duration of pain, and the number of painkillers taken before and after intervention were measured in both groups. Intensity of pain was assessed by VAS scale of pain. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: After intervention, the mean of pain intensity in the omega-3 group decreased to 3.5 which indicated a significant difference in comparison with the corresponding values before intervention (7.40) (p<0.05) and the values in the vitamin E group (5.25) (p<0.05). After intervention, the mean duration of pain in the omega-3 group reached 11.04 hours which showed a significant difference compared with the corresponding values before intervention (31.74) (p<0.05) and the values in the vitamin E group (34.81) (p<0.05). Conclusion: Omega-3 is more effective than vitamin E in the treatment of primary dysmenorrheal and its application as a new therapeutic method to the treatment of primary dysmenorrheal requires further studies.

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Background: Dysmenorrhea is a common problem in women of reproductive age and despite the current treatments, it still remains a common problem in women’s health. This study was done to determine the effect of aromatherapy on pain severity in primary dysmenorrhea. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was done on 108 students with primary dysmenorrhea with pain score of 2 and 3 based on the multidimensional spoken criteria. After random allocation, the participants received massage with almond oil, massage alone, and massage with a mixture of lavender and peppermint essential oil a week before menstrual period until the presence of pain in two continuous cycles. During cycles zero, one, and two, the participants recorded the highest level of pain during the first, second, and third days according to the visual analogue scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: There was a significant difference in the total of the most pain in days 1, 2, and 3 among the groups(p=0.038). A reduction was observed in massage and aromatherapy groups(p=0.014). There were significant differences in within group comparisons (p=0.002) for zero and first cycles(p=0.016) and first and second cycles(p=0.002). Conclusion: Aromatherapy reduces menstrual pain and considering the prevalence of dysmenorrheal, the low price, and harmless nature of this essence, its application in relieving menstrual cramping and pain is recommended.

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Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is chronic cyclical pelvic pain associated with menstruation in absence of an identifiable pathological condition. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence and severity of dysmenorrhea among athletes and non-athlete girls and its relation with body composition.

Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study 223 healthy students aging 20-30 years old from Guilan university randomly divided to two groups (72 athletes and 151 non-athletes). The athletes group engaged in regular physical activity for at least one year, three sessions a week and the non-athletes group were not engaged in any sports activity.  Data were collected by questionnaire and anthropometric measurements.

Results: The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was lower in athletes than non-athletes group (61.1% vs. 88.8%, p<0.001). A significant difference was observed in mood symptoms, physical symptoms and severity of pain between two groups (p<0.05). Also there was statistically significant relationship between body fat and physical symptoms of dysmenorrhea in both groups. However, no statistically significant relationship was observed between physical symptoms of dysmenorrhea, BMI and WHR.

Conclusion: It seems that performing regular exercise can be used as a preventing, treating or supplementary method in control of the early dysmenorrhea.

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Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common complaints in women's medicine, in the absence of any pelvic pathological failure. Exercise is commonly reported as a factor to decrease dysmenorrhea symptoms. One of the new therapeutic methods is “Kinesio Taping” which claimed to be able to reduce pain, swelling and muscle spasms. Thus, this study tries to determine and compare the effectiveness of using two therapeutic methods of stretching exercises and taping in painful menstruation of high school students.

Materials and Methods: This study is an operational, quasi-experimental and two- stage study with a control group and pre-test and post-test design. Thirty female high school students with the average age of 16.8±0.99 were selected as available, and were divided into three groups, randomly. For the first group, stretching exercises were carried out and the second group was taped with Kinesio Tape and control group did not any exercise. Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) was used to collect information. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and schober test were used for measuring the level of pain and range of motion, respectively. Data analysis was performed by a repeated measures ANOVA at the significant level of p>0.05.

Results: There was a significant improvement in back and abdomen pain and back range of motion.On the other hand, comparing data after intervention showed a significant difference in pain intensity between two groups. But, no significant difference was notified in increased back range of motion in group with kinesion tape.

Conclusion: Kinesio Taping has better effects than stretching exercises in reducing tesucing pain. Too, Stretching exercise has better effects in increasing back rang of motion.