Effectiveness of Physical Exercise on Primary Dysmenorrhea Among Female University Students.

Abstract

Primary Dysmenorrhoea is a condition that has attracted attention amongthe stakeholders in education and health professions. PrimaryDysmenorrhea is chronic cyclical pelvic pain associated with menstruationin the absence of an identifiable pathological condition. Dysmenorrhea is oneof the most common complaints and gynaecological problem worldwideamong young females. Many females use pain killers such as paracetamoland Non-steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS) to treat primarydysmenorrhea. The aim of this study is to investigate effectiveness ofphysical exercises on primary dysmenorrhea among University femalestudents. The study adopted a descriptive research approach. It involvedfifty students who had enrolled for gym at the University and hadparticipated in regular exercise. The control group involved 50 students whohad not enrolled for gym. The data was collected through self-administeredquestionnaires. The findings revealed that majority of the students wereaware that exercise treats the symptoms of dysmenorrhea but theycontinued using painkillers. The study found out that majority of thestudents would consider exercise as an alternative therapy in treating thesymptoms of dysmenorrhea. The study further revealed that theexperimental group had late onset of menstruation and they took a longertime to menstruate as compared to controlled group. Overall the results ofthis study indicated that participating in exercise is a likely alternativeapproach to reduce the effects of primary dysmenorrhoea symptomsespecially pain and improve the quality of life in young females