The Effectiveness of Chinese Medicine Nuan-gong-ye on Primary Dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common under-diagnosed complaint, with a prevalence of about 45-95% in women of childbearing age and about 10-25% in severe cases. Menstrual pain can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary menstrual pain is a crampy pain in the lower abdomen without any pelvic pathology, which usually occurs 6 to 12 months after the first menstruation. Primary menstrual pain is usually most severe on the first day of the menstrual cycle and lasts for 8 to 72 hours. The cause is still unknown, but studies suggest that it may be related to increased prostaglandins, which cause painful contractions of the uterus. The pain is often accompanied by other menstrual discomfort symptoms, including headache, breast tenderness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, and psychological anxiety, depression or irritability. In the case of secondary menstrual pain, there are clear pelvic pathologies, such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and pelvic inflammatory disease.