[Objective]Menstrual disorders are generic symptoms that appear during a menstrual cycle. In this study we examined three years of medical records retrospectively in order to investigate the effects of acupuncture treatment on menstrual disorders. We compared a group of women with diseases 'D'with to no diseases 'N'with respect to the effects of short-term acupuncture treatment.
[Methodology]Subjects for this research were 203women with menstrual disorders who came to our office during the period January 2009 -March 2012. The only treatment they were given was traditional Chinese medicine. We used BL 32, BL 35, GV 2, GV 4, and SP 6 as acupuncture points. We inserted stainless steel acupuncture needles (40 mm long, 1.8 mm in diameter) to a depth of 20 mm at BL 32 and 10 mm at SP 6. Other points were treated three times with kyubu-moxibution (burnt 90%). Treatment was provided once every 1-2 weeks. A Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) was used to judge treatment effectiveness. We classified the 203women into two groups;one was 'D'group (n = 46) and the other was 'N'group (n = 157). Concerning the eight items from the MDQ we compared each woman's condition before the first treatment after one menstrual cycle. This time we paid attention to premenstrual and menstrual periods. 'D'group was observed through three menstrual cycles.
[Results]The average number of treatments during one menstrual cycle was 2.2. Both groups had reduced scores for 6 prementstrual symptoms (p < 0.05). During menstrual period, 'D'had reduced scores for 3items, 'N'had reduced scores for 5 items;(p < 0.05). 'D'confirmed continuous effects of treatment. The effects on premenstrual symptoms were confirmed, "Pain"during all three menstrual cycles, "Water retention"during the second and third menstrual cycles, and "Concentration"during the third menstrual cycle. The effects during the menstrual period were also confirmed, "Pain"for all three menstrual cycles, and "Water retention"and "Behavioral change"during the third menstrual period (p < 0.05).
[Discussion]Concerning the effects of acupuncture treatment for menstrual disorders, 'D'had higher MDQ scores than 'N'. After one menstrual cycle, 'D'showed less improvement of MDQ items than 'N'. But continuous acupuncture treatments reduced menstrual disorder symptoms for 'D'.
[Conclusion]We have confirmed the effects of acupuncture treatment on menstrual cycle symptoms. In one menstrual cycle, 'N'showed more improvement than 'D'. But during three menstrual cycles 'N'experienced continuous effects of treatment.