The effectiveness of four manual therapy approaches on patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A structured literature review.
Item
- Title
- The effectiveness of four manual therapy approaches on patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A structured literature review.
- Author(s)
- Zwerger, L
- Abstract
- Background: Primary dysmenorrhea (PD), the presence of menstrual pain without underlying pathology, manifests as cramping pain in the lower abdomen, back, and thighs. It affects up to 90% of women during their adolescent and adult life. Standard management consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or oral contraceptives (OCP) followed by manual therapy and other alternative and self-care measures. Evidence informing the clinician about the use of manual therapy methods such as spinal manipulation (SM), connective tissue manipulation (CTM), exercise programs (EPs) and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is limited. Objectives: The objective of this review is to summarise and critically review studies assessing the effect of SM, CTM, EPs, and OMT for participants suffering from PD and to give an indication about the best management according to recent literature. Design: A structured literature review of randomised controlled trials (RCT) published between 2010 and 2018. Methods: A systematic search of the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and the library search of the University of Greenwich was conducted from July 2018 to October 2018. Results were screened according to inclusion/exclusion criteria, studies were summarised, and methodological quality was assessed using the JADAD quality assessment tool. Results: 607 studies were identified during the initial searches, 16 of which were analysed for this review. The four treatment modalities were assessed within studies of ranging methodological quality. The mean JADAD score was 2.38 and 15 out of the 16 studies reported statistically significant effects. Discussion: Limited evidence was found to underpin the use of SM. CTM and OMT showed promising evidence. EPs were most researched and favourable results were reported. Combined interventions could not be shown to have a larger effect than the assessed interventions on their own. Inconsistencies in study quality, exclusion of underlying pelvic pathology and lack of follow up warrant improvement in future research. Conclusion: Stretching programs and connective tissue manipulation over lumbar and abdominal regions should be included in future PD management. Further research into other osteopathic techniques for the management of PD is warranted.
- presented at
- European School of Osteopathy
- Date Accepted
- 2019
- Date Submitted
- 19.11.2019 18:31:10
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Submitted by:
- 62
- Pub-Identifier
- 16523
- Inst-Identifier
- 1229
- Keywords
- effectiveness, management, manual therapy, primary dysmenorrhea
- Recommended
- 0
- Item sets
- Thesis
Zwerger, L, “The effectiveness of four manual therapy approaches on patients with primary dysmenorrhea: A structured literature review.”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 4, 2025, https://www.osteopathicresearch.org/s/orw/item/224