Dysmenorrhea
review
OA: closed
CC0
⤵ 14 in-corpus citations
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This review discusses primary and secondary dysmenorrhea, detailing their causes, pathological mechanisms, and treatment options including NSAIDs and oral contraceptives.
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Abstract
A review of the clinical features, diagnosis and management of primary and secondary dysmenorrhea updates some old views. Dysmenorrhea is painful menstruation, either cramps with no visible cause, primary dysmenorrhea, or secondary to specific pelvic pathology. Primary dysmenorrhea occurs in as many as 50% of young women, only in ovulatory cycles, and usually limited to the first 48 or 72 hours of menstruation. Secondary dysmenorrhea can be caused by any of a dozen or so disorders such as endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, IUDs, irregular cycles or infertility problems, ovarian cysts, adenomyosis, uterine myomas or polyps, intrauterine adhesions or cervical stenosis. Psychological factors are now known not to cause dysmenorrhea, only to add to the reactive component of the pain. The pain is due to uterine cramps, hypoxia or ischemia, due to overproduction of prostaglandins, leukotrienes or vasopressin. Thus, primary dysmenorrhea can be treated with oral contraceptives if the women wishes to take pills for contraception and they are not contraindicated, or with non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents for the full 72 hours after pain begins. Calcium channel-blockers are also used on a research basis; transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is sometimes effective. If these treatments are not effective, investigation for causes of secondary dysmenorrhea is indicated, preferably for laparoscopy.
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Cited by (14)
- Menstrual pain and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer: Results from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium 2017
- Biological differences between functionalis and basalis endometria in women with and without adenomyosis 2016
- Naproxen sodium decreases prostaglandins secretion from cultured human endometrial stromal cells modulating metabolizing enzymes mRNA expression 2015
- Menstrual pain and epithelial ovarian cancer risk 2014
- Severe Primary Dysmenorrhea Due to Functioning Noncommunicating Rudimentary Horn 2009
- Dysménorrhées 2004
- Menstrual Disorders 2003
- Pelvic Pain Scores in Women without Pelvic Pathology 2002
- Characteristics of uterine contractility during menses in women with mild to moderate endometriosis 2002
- Endometriosis: absence of recurrence in patients after endometrial ablation 2001
- Surgical pelvic neuroablation for chronic pelvic pain: a systematic review 2000
- Surgical interruption of pelvic nerve pathways for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea 1999
- Evidence-Based Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain 1998
- Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and reproduction 1993
Source provenance
- openalex
- last seen: 2026-06-04T00:00:01.174412+00:00
- pubmed
- last seen: 2026-05-13T22:12:10.587122+00:00
License: CC0
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