Background & Aims
Primary dysmenorrhea (PDM) refers to a kind of lower abdominal pain experienced before or during menstruation [1]. PDM is common among young women and has profound impacts on their work and daily life [2-3]. Previous studies have indicated that virtual reality (VR) is an effective non-pharmacological alternative therapy on pain [4-5]. To date, there are no studies focusing on the effects of VR technology on the intervention of PDM. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the analgesic effects of VR technology on PDM and its potential mechanisms.
Methods
Fifty PDM patients were recruited to participate the experiment during their first or second day of menstrual cycle with a randomized controlled trial. They were randomly assigned into two different groups (experimental v.s. control). Specifically, participants in the experimental group (n=25, mean age= 20.40±2.27) engaged in Nature Treks VR game, while others in the control group (n=25, mean age= 20.08±1.96) watched a 2D video with the same contents. For all participants, their pain-related responses induced by electrical stimulation and menstrual pain intensity at different phases of the intervention were assessed using a 11-point numeric rating scale (0 represents no pain at all and 10 represents unbearable pain).
Results
There were no significant differences in menstrual pain intensity between the two groups in the pre-intervention phase (experimental: 4.16±1.92, control: 4.15±0.78; Z=0.015, p=0.988). For the menstrual pain intensity, participants in the experimental group showed significantly higher pre- to during-intervention change ratios than pre- to post-intervention change ratios (pre-during:-0.26±0.13, pre-post:-0.03±0.15; Z=-2.239, p=0.025), while no significant differences were observed between the pre- to during-intervention change ratios and pre- to post-intervention change ratios in the control group (pre-during:-0.17±0.20, pre-post:-0.12±0.21; Z=-0.722, p=0.470). Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between the pre- to post-intervention change ratios in the menstrual pain intensity and the pre- to post-intervention change ratios in the attention control among the experimental group (r=0.760, p=0.047).
Conclusions
The alternative therapy based on virtual reality has immediate analgesic effects on primary dysmenorrhea rather than lasting analgesic effects. The generation of this immediate analgesic effect may be related to the improvement of attentional control.
References
[1] Ferries-Rowe, E., Corey, E., & Archer, J. S. (2020). Primary dysmenorrhea: Diagnosis and therapy. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 136(5), 1047–1058.
[2] Dong, Y., Li, M. J., Hong, Y. Z., & Li, W. J. (2023). Insight into dysmenorrhea research from 1992 to 2022: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of pain research, 16, 3591–3611.
[3] Mu, J., Wang, Q., Dun, W., Yang, J., Wang, K., Zhang, M., & Liu, J. (2021). The effects of long-term menstrual pain on pain empathy in women with primary dysmenorrhea. Pain, 162(7), 2051–2059.
[4] Lier, E. J., de Vries, M., Steggink, E. M., Ten Broek, R. P. G., & van Goor, H. (2023). Effect modifiers of virtual reality in pain management: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Pain, 164(8), 1658–1665.
[5] Eccleston, C., Fisher, E., Liikkanen, S., Sarapohja, T., Stenfors, C., Jääskeläinen, S. K., Rice, A. S. C., Mattila, L., Blom, T., & Bratty, J. R. (2022). A prospective, double-blind, pilot, randomized, controlled trial of an “embodied” virtual reality intervention for adults with low back pain. Pain, 163(9), 1700–1715.
Presenting Author
Juanjuan Zhang
Poster Authors
Topics
- Specific Pain Conditions/Pain in Specific Populations: Abdominal and Pelvic Pain