Chiropractic Adjustments Alleviate Menstrual Pain

A prospective case series demonstrates that chiropractic adjustments significantly ease menstrual pain.

The study enrolled 13 women with an average age of 26 years who had suffered from dysmenorrhea for an average of 12 years. Treatment consisted of treating lumbosacral flexion and extension restrictions using drop table. Treatments took place 3 times during each of the 2 consecutive menstrual cycles.

“At baseline, all subjects reported pain severity scores of 5 or higher for at least 2 of 3 anatomical sites: lower or general abdominal pain and/or lower back pain,” according to the study. “Using the 95% confidence interval (CI) as an estimate, clinically meaningful changes (<5) in general abdominal pain and lower back pain were evident for most patients during the treatment phase, whereas for lower abdominal pain, the improvements were subject and cycle dependent. Menstrual pain associated with primary dysmenorrhea may be alleviated with treatment of motion segment restrictions of the lumbosacral spine with drop table technique,” conclude the study’s authors.

JMPT – March 2008;31:237-46