Raheela Kanwal, Tahir Masood, Waqar Ahmed Awan, Mirza Shamim Baig, Muhammad Naveed Babur.
Effectiveness of Stretching Exercise in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Phase in Primary Dysmenorrhoea.
Pak J Physiol Jan ;13(2):6-10.

Background: Primary dysmenorrhoea is health related problem within females with high prevalence affecting different aspects of their life and their productivity. The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of stretching exercises done during symptomatic and asymptomatic phase of menstrual cycle in primary dysmenorrhoea. Methods: Randomized controlled trial (RCT) (double blinded) study was carried out at Royal group of colleges Gujranwala, Pakistan. Sixty six students with confirmed diagnosis of primary dysmenorrhoea were included through non-probability convenience sampling. The students were randomly assigned to two equal (n=33) groups: Asymptomatic (A) and Symptomatic (B). Each student was assessed for pain and associated symptoms of dysmenorrhoea by using numeric pain rating scale and Daily record of severity of problems (DRSP). Stretching exercises were performed thrice per week for group A which did exercises during asymptomatic phase and same exercises were done twice a day for group B only in symptomatic days. Both groups did exercises for three months. Data was taken at baseline and post menstrual phase of three successive menstrual cycles. The data was analyzed using SPSS 20. An independent samples t test was used to compare both groups and repeated measures ANOVA was used to find the intervention-based effects within each group. Results: Mean age of students was 21.29±2.60 (Year), mean weight was 52.70±4.81 (Kg), mean age at menarche was 13.18±1.11 (Year) and mean BMI was 16.87±0.81 (Kg/m2 ). Both groups were comparable at baseline for age, weight, BMI and age at menarche as p>0.05. Significant changes for pain and associated symptoms were found within each group (p<0.01). However, both groups have non-significant difference with each other (p>0.05). Conclusion: It is concluded that stretching exercises in symptomatic phase and asymptomatic phase are equally effective to relieve pain and associated symptoms of Primary Dysmenorrhoea.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com