Breathing Exercises Combined With Core Stabilization Exercises in Women With Primary Dysmenorrhea

Summary

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological condition among women of reproductive age and is associated with pelvic pain, psychological distress, and reduced health-related quality of life. Although core stabilization exercises and breathing exercises have individually demonstrated beneficial effects, evidence regarding their combined effectiveness remains limited.

This randomized controlled trial aims to compare the effects of core stabilization exercises alone with breathing exercises combined with core stabilization exercises in women with primary dysmenorrhea. Forty-eight women aged 18-25 years will be randomly allocated to either the control group (core stabilization exercises) or the experimental group (breathing exercises combined with core stabilization exercises). Both groups will participate in supervised exercise sessions three times per week for eight weeks.

Outcome measures will include menstrual pain intensity, psychological status, and health-related quality of life, assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), and 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) at baseline and Week 8.

The study will determine whether adding breathing exercises to core stabilization exercises provides greater clinical benefits than core stabilization exercises alone.

Conditions

• Primary Dysmenorrhea (PD)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Core Stabilization Exercises

Participants will perform a supervised core stabilization exercise program designed to improve trunk muscle strength, core stability, and pelvic stability. The intervention will be delivered three times per week for eight weeks, with each session lasting approximately 40 minutes. Each session will begin with a 5-minute warm-up consisting of marching in place, torso rotations, side bends, cat-cow stretching, and hip circles. The exercise program includes bicycle crunches (3 sets × 15 repetitions), abdominal curls (3 sets × 15 repetitions), standing trunk rotations (3 sets × 15 repetitions), side bends (3 sets × 15 repetitions), pelvic bridging (3 sets × 15 repetitions), and mountain climbers (3 sets × 15 repetitions). Rest intervals of 10-20 seconds will be provided between exercises.

BEHAVIORAL

Breathing Exercises Combined with Core Stabilization Exercises

Participants will receive supervised breathing exercises combined with the standard core stabilization exercise program. The intervention will be delivered three sessions per week for eight weeks, with each session lasting approximately 40 minutes. The breathing exercise component will last approximately 8 minutes and will include the following techniques: * Diaphragmatic Breathing: Participants will inhale deeply through the nose while allowing the abdomen to expand and then exhale slowly through the mouth. * 4-7-8 Breathing: Participants will inhale through the nose for 4 seconds, hold their breath for 7 seconds, and exhale slowly through the mouth for 8 seconds. * Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana): Participants will perform alternate nostril breathing by inhaling and exhaling through alternate nostrils in a controlled sequence. * Guided Relaxation with Slow Breathing: Participants will perform slow, controlled breathing while focusing on whole-body relaxation. The breat

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Lahore

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

25 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-10-18

Primary Completion

2025-12-20

Completion

2026-04-15

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations