A Randomized Controlled Trial of Single Point Acupuncture in Primary Dysmenorrhea

Abstract

Specific acupoint acupuncture produced a statistically, but not clinically, significant effect compared with unrelated acupoint and nonacupoint acupuncture in primary dysmenorrhea patients. Future studies should focus on effects of multiple points acupuncture on primary dysmenorrhea.

Treating Primary Dysmenorrhoea with Acupuncture: A Narrative Review of the Relationship between Acupuncture ‘dose— and Menstrual Pain Outcomes

“…The largest included trial suggested that SP6 offers a greater immediate pain reduction when compared to GB39. 21 This difference is likely due to the fact that SP6 is segmental to the uterus while GB39 is not. 38 This segmental activation at the level of sacral spinal nerve 2 (S2) may lead to reflex sympathetic inhibition of the uterus 12 resulting in increased uterine blood flow.…”

“…Two trials were excluded as they were subsets of the dataset reported in Liu et al 21 In total, 11 RCTs provided data that could be used to explore the relationship between dose and pain outcomes (figure 1).…”

“…Trials with either single, weekly or monthly 25 28 treatment did not show a trend towards reduced pain compared to those with daily treatment 21 23 24 26 27 29 30 for immediate, short-term or long-term outcomes.…”

“…Table 3 describes the included studies that examined the effect of changing needle location. Four studies [21][22][23][24] examined the effect of EA at SP6, GB39 or an unrelated acupuncture point. All studies concluded that EA had a significant and immediate effect on pain.…”

Influence of de qi on the immediate analgesic effect of SP6 acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea and cold and dampness stagnation: A multicentre randomised controlled trial

“…11 In our previous studies, acupuncture at SP6 induced significant analgesic effects in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea. [9][10][11][12] We found that this treatment was especially successful in patients with the specific TCM diagnosis of cold and dampness stagnation. 13 The aim of this randomised controlled study was to explore the role of the actual de qi sensation in the immediate analgesic effect of SP6 acupuncture in patients with primary dysmenorrhoea and cold and dampness stagnation.…”