The aim of this study was to compare the effects of biomedical pain education and pain neuroscience education, in addition to routine exercise training, on menstrual pain parameters (pain severity and duration, analgesic use), menstrual stress, somatosensory function, pain catastrophizing, pain beliefs, anxiety/depressive symptom level and quality of life in healthy individuals with primary dysmenorrhea.The design of the study is parallel group, randomized study. Individuals will be randomly assigned to one of the pain neuroscience education or biomedical pain education research arms. In the literature, there is no study comparing the effects of pain neuroscience education and biomedical pain education in primary dysmenorrhea, which is a problem that affects women's lives significantly. It is important to reveal the effects of different pain trainings for effective pain management in primary dysmenorrhea.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of biomedical pain education and pain neuroscience education, in addition to routine exercise training, on menstrual pain parameters (pain severity and duration, analgesic use), menstrual stress, somatosensory function, pain catastrophizing, pain beliefs, anxiety/depressive symptom level and quality of life in healthy individuals with primary dysmenorrhea. The design of the study is parallel group, randomized study. The study sample consists of healthy individuals aged 18 years and older with primary dysmenorrhea symptoms. Individuals will be randomly assigned to one of the two research arms. In addition to the exercise training, which includes stretching and relaxation exercises routinely used in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation in primary dysmenorrhea, the patients in the first research arm will be given pain neuroscience education once a week for 2 weeks. In the second research arm, in addition to the exercise training that includes stretching and relaxation exercises routinely applied in the field of physiotherapy and rehabilitation in primary dysmenorrhea, biomedical pain education will be given once a week for 2 weeks. Participants will be evaluated in terms of descriptive measurements and outcome measures 3 times in total, before the applications, immediately after the end of the application period, and 3 months after the end of the applications. The primary outcome measurement parameter of the study was determined as the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, which is used to determine the severity of menstrual pain. Secondary outcome measures are menstrual stress level to be evaluated with the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, somatosensory function status to be evaluated with the Central Sensitization Inventory, pain catastrophizing state to be evaluated with the Menstrual Pain Specific Pain Catastrophizing Scale, pain beliefs status to be assessed with the Pain Beliefs Questionnaire, anxiety/depressive symptom level to be evaluated with Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), quality of life to be evaluated with World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form and perception of change to be evaluated by 5-point likert scale. Sample size calculation was performed with G\*Power version 3.1 based on previous study results. In the one-way hypothesis design, it was determined that a total of 32 individuals, 16 individuals in each group, should be included in the study in order to reach 80% power with the calculated effect size difference Cohen's d=0.9 and α=0.05 type 1 error. Considering that there might be a 20% loss of individuals during the study, it was decided to include a total of 38 individuals in the study. In the literature, there is no study comparing the effects of pain neuroscience education and biomedical pain education in primary dysmenorrhea, which is a problem that affects women's lives significantly. It is important to reveal the effects of different pain trainings for effective pain management in primary dysmenorrhea.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
38
Exercise training will be applied in the non-menstrual period during 2 menstrual cycles as stretching and relaxation exercises. Stretching exercises will include general stretching and specific stretching exercises and will take approximately 20 minutes in total. After the stretching exercises, relaxation exercise will be performed with diaphragmatic breathing for 10 minutes. The exercises will be performed with music accompanied by a physiotherapist once a week, and it will be recommended to do the exercises as a home program for 2 sessions a week.
Participants in the first research arm will be given pain neuroscience education once a week for 2 weeks after their first menstruation. The training will be repeated with a reminder session at the end of the 2nd menstruation.
Participants in the second research arm will be given biomedical pain education once a week for 2 weeks after their first menstruation. The training will be repeated with a reminder session at the end of the 2nd menstruation.
Büşra Nur Erol
Ankara, Turkey (Türkiye)
Severity of menstrual pain
Visual Analogue Scale (VAS): This scale is a 10cm horizontal line. 0= no pain/meaning no effect, 10= unbearable pain/ experiencing
Time frame: Change in severity of menstrual pain from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Menstrual stress level
Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ): The scale consists of 47 menstrual symptoms and 8 sub-symptom groups. Complaints are scored from 0 to 4. 0=no symptoms, 1=little, 2=moderate, 3=severe, 4=very severe.
Time frame: Change in level of menstrual stress from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Somatosensory function status
Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI): CSI consists of two parts. Part A contains 25 items that assess somatic and emotional health-related symptoms common in Central sensitization-related disorders. Each item is graded on a 5-point scale from (0) "never" to (4) "always", with a maximum total score of 100. Higher scores indicate a higher degree of symptomatology. Section B includes 7 diagnoses of central sensitization syndromes (tension headaches/migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, restless legs syndrome, temporomandibular joint disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple chemical sensitivities) and three additional diagnoses found to be associated with central sensitization ( depression, anxiety/panic attack, and neck injury); Participants were asked, together with the year of diagnosis, "Has any of the following conditions been diagnosed by a doctor?" contains the question.
Time frame: Change in status of somatosensory function from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Menstrual pain catastrophizing state
Pain Catastrophizing Scale: It has 13 items and consists of 3 sub-dimensions (helplessness, magnification and rumination). Questions are scored between 0-4. Subscales are determined by summing the scores of each item, and the total score (between 0 and 52 points) is calculated with the sum of all items. A higher score means a greater degree of catastrophization.
Time frame: Change in state of menstrual pain catastrophizing from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Menstrual pain beliefs status
Pain Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ): It contains 12 items related to pain beliefs. PBQ-O is an 8-item subscale, and PBQ-P is a 4-item subscale. Organic beliefs sub-dimension consists of items 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11, and psychological beliefs sub-dimension consists of items 4, 6, 9 and 12. Participants mark the appropriate answer for themselves on a 6-point response scale ranging from "always" to "never".
Time frame: Change in status of menstrual pain beliefs from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Anxiety/depressive symptom level
Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21): It is a valid measure for depression, anxiety, and stress in adults. Each of the three subscales contains 7 items; each is answered from zero (never) to three (always). Higher scores indicate greater levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Time frame: Change in level of anxiety/depressive symptom from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Quality of life level
World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF): 442 / 5.000 Çeviri sonuçları The WHOQOl-BREF is a 26-item self-administered questionnaire and covers 4 dimensions of quality of life (6 items for psychological health, 7 items for physical health, 3 items for social relationships, and 8 items for environmental health). Except for 3 questions targeting pain and discomfort, need for medical treatment, and negative emotions, each question has response categories ranging from 1 to 5, and a high score indicates high quality of life.
Time frame: Change in level of quality of life from baseline up to end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days)
Perception of change
5-point likert scale: Individuals' perception of subjective changes in menstrual pain and other menstrual symptoms with interventions will be evaluated. -2= much worse, -1= slightly worse, 0= no change, 1= slightly better, 2= much better. The changes in the menstrual symptoms of the individuals just after the end of the interventions and 3 months after the end of the interventions will be questioned when compared with the baseline.
Time frame: Change in menstrual symptoms immediately after the end of 2 menstrual cycles (each cycle is 28± 7 days) and 3 months after the end of the interventions compared with baseline
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