Clinical Study On Treatment Of Primary Dysmenorrheal By Electroacupuncture

ObjectivePrimary dysmenorrhea which refers to functional dysmenorrheal, is not associated with significant pelvic organic diseases. Due to its complex causes and easy relapse, it has become a difficult gynecological disease and brings serious impact on women's physical and mental health as well as their work and study. So far, there is still no major breakthrough in its prevention and treatment. Acupuncture has proved to be effective in treating dysmenorrhea, what is more, acupuncture is not expensive, easy to perform and has no side effects, therefore, it can be easily accepted by most patients. But many acupoints have been used to treat dysmenorrhea, and there is few relative standardized study about acupoints, which has caused difficulty in selecting acupoints for clinical treatment of dysmenorrheal.Treating primary dysmenorrhea by applying EA on Sanyinjiao together with other acupoints based on differentiation, and was compared with control group treated by traditional Chinese medicine. To initially observe the therapeutic effect of Sanyinjiao and to further investigate the specificity of acupuncture points in treating dysmenorrheal.Object and Methods:60 patients who met the diagnostic criteria of primary dysmenorrhea were included in the study in order, and they were randomly divided into two groups:treatment group treated by electroacupuncture on sanyinjiao and control group treated by Chinese medicine, there were 30 patients in each group, and they were given either Chinese medicine or electroacupuncture according to stochastic programs.MethodTreatment group:Patients were given EA on Sanyinjiao together with other acupoints based on Differential Treatment of primary dysmenorrheal. Points that were selected were as follows:Sanyinjiao, Ciliao, seventeenth vertebra, Hegu, Taichong, if the patient had nausea and vomiting, gong-sun and Neiguan would be added, if the patient's limbs were not warm, and had a pale countenance, Shenshu and Yaoyangguan would be added; if the patient suffered foot fatigue and dizziness, Geshu, Pishu would be added. EA frequency was 2/100HZ, and its degree of intensity was mainly determined by the patient's tolerance. The treatment lasted for 30 minutes each time, starting 7 days before menstruation, and lasted for 10 consecutive days for three consecutive menstrual cycles.Control group:Patients were given Gexiazhuyutang which had the function of activating blood circulation, transforming blood stasis and relieving pain by activating movement of qi. Drugs contained in the formula were as follows: Angelica, Chuanxiong, red peony, Danpi, peach kernel (smashed), safflower, Yuan Hu, aggregata, Wulingzhi (fried), Cyperus rotundus, Citrus aurantium, licorice.if the patient had nausea and vomiting, pinellia and ginger would be added, if the patient's limbs were not warm, and had a pale countenance, Aiye and cumin would be added; if the patient suffered foot fatigue and dizziness, Radix and Millettia would be added. Decoction of those herbs was dried and made into concentrated powder. Then the powder was made into scientific medicine by adding appropriate excipients (starch). Patients started taking medicine 7 days before the menstruation until the third day of the menstruation,50g (one bag) each time,3 times a day, for three menstrual cycles. Patients in both groups before and after treatment were scored by MQP, SF-36 and given plasma PGF2a and PGE2 detection. The measured data given t test or analysis of variance while count data was given X2 test, clinical grade Data was given Ridit analysis. All the data was analyzed by SPSS statistical software (SPSS12).ResultsAfter treatment, patients'total pain score, total emotional score, VAS score and present pain scores all decreased compared with that before treatment, with P<0.01, the differences were statistically significant; compared total pain score, total emotional score, VAS score and present pain scores between the two groups, the differences were statistically significant,with P<0.05;After treatment, the value of plasma PGF2a of patients in two groups all decreased significantly, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant, P<0.01, the values of plasma PGE2 were significantly higher after treatment, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant P<0.01. Comparing the SF-36 score in treatment group before and after treatment, the differences were all statistically significant P<0.01; Comparing the SF-36 score in control group before and after treatment, the differences were all statistically significant P<0.01; The comparison of SF-36 score of patients in two groups after treatment, the differences were statistically significant, P<0.05.Conclusion1.Electroacupuncture and Gexiazhuyutang both can improve pain feeling and emotional discomfort of patients with dysmenorrhea, and they can reduce their pains. EA was better.2.Electroacupuncture and Gexiazhuyutang can reduce the level of PGF2a in patients with dysmenorrhea, and can increase PGE2 levels therefore can improve abnormal hormone secretion, and EA was better than Gexiazhuyutang.3.Electroacupuncture and Gexiazhuyutang can improve SF-36 scores of patients with dysmenorrheal, therefore can improve the quality of their life and the treatment group had better effect than the control group.