Prevalence, Severity of Dysmenorrhea and Effectiveness of Structured Physiotherapy Interventions Among Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Summary

\*\*Trial Summary\*\*

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common condition among young women that can significantly impair daily functioning and health-related quality of life. This single-center randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a 12-week structured physiotherapy program in 360 female Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students with primary dysmenorrhea. Participants were randomly allocated to either a structured physiotherapy intervention (n=180) or a control group receiving conventional treatment (n=180). The intervention consisted of supervised sessions three times per week, including general stretching, pelvic stretching, aerobic jogging, Kegel exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation. The primary outcome was the change in dysmenorrhea symptoms over three consecutive menstrual cycles, while secondary outcomes included health-related quality of life assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. Compared with the control group, participants receiving structured physiotherapy demonstrated significant reductions in all assessed dysmenorrhea symptoms and significant improvements in physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perception, and vitality. Greater dysmenorrhea severity was associated with poorer quality-of-life scores, and structured physiotherapy independently predicted clinical improvement. The findings indicate that a structured multimodal physiotherapy program is an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing the severity of primary dysmenorrhea and improving selected domains of health-related quality of life in female DPT students.

Conditions

• Primary Dysmenorrhea (PD)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Structured Physiotherapy Program

Participants received a supervised structured physiotherapy program three times per week for 12 weeks in addition to conventional treatment. Each 50-minute session consisted of five components: general stretching, specific pelvic stretching (Billig protocol), moderate-intensity aerobic jogging (60-70% of age-predicted maximum heart rate), Kegel exercises, and progressive muscle relaxation. The intervention was designed to reduce the severity of primary dysmenorrhea and improve health-related quality of life.

OTHER

Conventional Treatment for Primary Dysmenorrhea

Participants received conventional medical treatment for primary dysmenorrhea according to routine clinical practice throughout the 12-week study period. Conventional management included the use of standard analgesic or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications as prescribed by the treating physician. Participants continued their usual daily activities and did not receive the structured physiotherapy intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Imran A Khan, PhD · Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture Multan

• Maliha K Khan, DPT, MSPH · Muhammad Institute of Medical and Allied Sciences Multan

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-02-02

Primary Completion

2026-06-30

Completion

2026-06-30

Countries

• Pakistan

Study Locations