title: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials of acupressure therapy for primary dysmenorrhea.
abstract: The evidence of acupressure is limited in the management of dysmenorrhea. To evaluate the efficacy of acupressure in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs), we searched MEDLINE, the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases from inception until March 2012. Two reviewers independently selected articles and extracted data. Statistical analysis was performed with RevMan 5.1 software. Eight RCTs were identified from the retrieved 224 relevant records. Acupressure improved pain measured with VAS (-1.41 cm 95% CI [-1.61, -1.21]), SF-MPQ at the 3-month followup (WMD -2.33, 95% CI [-4.11, -0.54]) and 6-month followup (WMD -4.67, 95% CI [-7.30, -2.04]), and MDQ at the 3-month followup (WMD -2.31, 95% CI [-3.74, -0.87]) and 6-month followup (WMD -4.67, 95% CI [-7.30, -2.04]). All trials did not report adverse events. These results were limited by the methodological flaws of trials.
authors.affiliation: Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 725 South Wanping Road, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Ru
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Jin-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Miao-Miao
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xue-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Bi-Meng
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Zhang
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