A clinical trial of acupuncture about time-varying treatment and points selection in primary dysmenorrhea

Abstract Objective To observe the clinical therapeutic effects of acupuncture at single point Shiqizhui (EX-B8) and multi-points in time-varying treatment for primary dysmenorrhea. Methods 600 patients with primary dysmenorrhea were randomly assigned to the single point group ( n =200) including group A (treating before the menstruation, n =100) and group B (immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence, n =100), the multi-points group ( n =200) including group C (treating before the menstruation, n =100) and group D (immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence, n =100), or the control group, group E ( n =200, no treatment). The therapeutic effects were analyzed after treatment for three menstrual cycles and interviewed for three follow-up periods. Results Acupuncture could effectively relieve menstrual pain for primary dysmenorrhea compared with the control group ( P P P P P P Conclusion Treating before the menstruation is better than immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence at the improvement in symptoms of dysmenorrheal at multi-points. And single point is better than multi-points when immediately treating as soon as pain occurrence. The present trial suggest Shiqizhui (EX-B8) should be chosen as a convenient point.