Introduction: Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecologic disorder that affects 50 percent of women who have menstrual periods. This study investigated the effects of brisk walking on primary dysmenorrhea on girl students.
Methods: In this clinical trial, 45 students of exercise group and 45 students of control group who were studied in faculty of nursing and midwifery were studied in Mashhad, Iran, 2012.
Exercise group performed brisk walking for half an hour in the first 3 days of menstruation in three consecutive menstrual cycles. Research tools included visual pain scale, demographic data questionnaire and menstrual characteristics before and after exercise. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The mean age of participants was 20.74 years. The mean of dysmenorrhea duration of each cycle and days of bleeding were 2.49 days and 6.96 days, respectively. The mean of pain scores was similar in two groups before the intervention but it was significant after the intervention (p<0.001). There was a significant difference in the exercise group in terms of pain severity before and after intervention (p<0.001); while, there was no difference in the control group in this regard (p=0.81).
Conclusion: Brisk walking for half an hour in the first 3 days of menstruation reduces pain of primary dysmenorrhea.