Advances in Nursing & Midwifery

چکیده

Primary Dysmenorrhea and Complementary Medicine
Ataollahi , M¹; Amir AliAkbari, S*²
- Alumnus, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran .
(-Lecturer, Dept. of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Background and objective: Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological complaints of women
which interfers with daily activities and causes missing work and school. Complementary therapy is a safe ,
and reliable treatment for primary dysmenorrhea that its effectiveness has been showen in many studies.
Considering the prevalence of primary dysmenorrhea and harmful side effects of some synthetic drugs, the
present study aims to summarize the effect of complementary medicine on primary dysmenorrhea.
Materials and Methods: A search for English and Persian literature published from (000 to (01 was
conducted using key words : dysmenorrhea-primary dysmenorrhea ,complementary therpy and
nonpharmachologic tetherapy from databases Pubmed, SID, Scirus and Elsevier .A total number of 30
publications were included in the review.
Results: Complementary medicine includes the use of dietary supplements, vitamins, aroma therapy, herbal
therapy, homeopathy, acupressure, sport and massage and is safe, affordable, and accessible. It has less side
effects, acceptability and high tolerability and can replace highly morbid chemical agents.
Conclusions: based on the findings of the present research and the high prevalence of dysmenorrhea,
further studies on the side effects and benefits of complementary medicine and comparing the influence of
complementary medicine with chemical drugs is mandatory.
Keywords: primary dysmenorrhea, complementary medicine, herbs, pain reduction.
*Corresponding Author: Sedigheh, Amir AliAkbari. Lecturer, Dept. of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and
Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: asa_akbari@yahoo.com