Research Article Bian Zheng Lun Zhi as a Complementary and Alternative Treatment for Menstrual Cramps in Women with Dysmenorrhea: A Prospective Clinical Observation

Copyright © 2014 Pin-Yi Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Limited scientific evidence supports the positive effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for treating dysmenorrhea. Thus, an observation period of 3 months could verify the ancient indication that TCM treatments effectively alleviatemenstrual cramps inwomenwith primary dysmenorrhea or endometriosis.Methods. A prospective, nonrandomized study (primary dysmenorrhea and endometriosis groups) was conducted in women with dysmenorrhea for more than three consecutive menstrual cycles. All patients received TCM prescriptions based on bian zheng lun zhi theory 14 days before menstruation for a period of 12weeks. Pain intensity was evaluated using a 10-cm visual analogue scale and two validated questionnaires (theMenstrual Distress Questionnaire and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire). Results. Of the initial 70 intent-to-treat participants, the women with dysmenorrhea reported significant alleviation of cramps duringmenstruation after the 12-week TCM treatment. Mixed model analysis revealed that TCM prescriptions were more effective in alleviating fatigue, hot flashes, dizziness, painful breasts, excitement, and irritability in the primary dysmenorrhea group (