The effects of massage therapy on Dysmenorrhea caused by Endometriosis

Abstract

• BACKGROUND: Studying women’s quality of life, we come across some harmful effects that factor such as dysmenorrhea caused by endometriosis leaves on their lives, their ability to work, their familial relations and their self-confidence. This we find a much imperative issue. Due to the repeated medical follow-ups and the side effects of medical therapies and endometriosis surgeries, many patients tend to use less expensive, nonmedical and nonaggressive methods. Thus, the objective of the present research is to study the effects of massage therapy, one of the aforementioned methods.
• METHODS: This study is a experimental one including clinical trials. Considering the prerequisites for entering the study, 23 units suffering from endometriosis that had refered to the Infertility Center of Isfahan and were confirmed by laparoscopy or laparotomy were picked as the sample through a simple method. The tools of collecting data were the visual Analog Scale and McGill questionnaires, which were completed once before and twice after the end of intervention. The data was analyzed using the SPSS software.
• RESULTS: The findings showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the intensity of pain before the intervention started, immediately after, and also six weeks after the intervention ended (p<0.001).
• CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study and confirmations of other ones, it seems that massage therapy can be a fitting method to reduce the menstrual pain caused by endometriosis.
• KEY WORDS: Endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, massage therapy.