Effect Of Menstrual Belt And Stress Ball Application On Pain Intensity In Women With Dysmenorrhea

Menstruation is a physiological condition that significantly affects women's lives and is a process that recurs every month and is defined as bleeding that is expelled by periodic shedding of the endometrium layer in fertile females. The process of menstruation, which affects the lives of women of reproductive age, causes periodic monthly changes in the uterus and ovaries. These changes occur under the influence of hormones such as luteinizing hormone (LH), estrogen, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and progesterone. The menstrual cycle is responsible for ovum production and prepares the uterus for pregnancy. The average length of the cycle is 28 days (ranging from 21-35 days), and the cycle is recognized as one that begins in a woman's life at menarche and continues until menopause.Pain during menstruation is characterized by painful cramps usually on the first or second day of menstruation and is defined as dysmenorrhea. It is usually categorized into two types: primary and secondary. Primary dysmenorrhea is recurrent, cramping abdominal pain that occurs during menstruation without any identifiable pelvic pathology.Secondary dysmenorrhea occurs due to pelvic or uterine pathology (such as fibroids, endometriosis, infection, uterine and ovarian cysts and tumors).Secondary dysmenorrhea can begin at any time after menarche, but it can also present as a new symptom when a woman is in her 30s and 40s after the onset of the underlying condition.

The pain in dysmenorrhea usually starts in the first 1-2 years after menarche. The incidence of dysmenorrhea may vary because most women with this problem do not apply to any health institution. When we look at the researches, it has been found that approximately 25-90% of women in the reproductive period complain of dysmenorrhea. In dysmenorrhea, cramp-like pain, which is predominant in the suprapubic region, can sometimes be accompanied by various systemic symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, irritability, changes in appetite, insomnia, diarrhea and headache.These symptoms can be experienced in different severities and can lead to significant medical and psychosocial problems.Dysmenorrhea reduces the quality of life of women by causing changes in their physical activities and social roles. By affecting daily activity and performance, it causes loss of working days, especially in working women, and absenteeism in women who are studying.Methods that can be used to prevent or reduce dysmenorrhea complaints; Hot treatment, Exercise, Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), Vitamins, Acupuncture, distraction, menstrual belt can be recommended. In order to ensure effective coping with symptoms during menstruation, women should be educated, informed and behavior change should be ensured rather than drug treatment.

In our study, as a result of the literature review, there was no study on the hot massage electric waist-heated menstrual belt and stress ball squeezing, which are among the methods that can be used to prevent or reduce complaints in women with dysmenorrhea complaints. This study was planned to determine the effect of distraction with menstrual belt and stress relieving ball on women's pain intensity level during the menstrual cycle.

Methods:

In this study; It will be carried out as a randomized controlled quasi-experimental study to determine the effect of menstrual belt and stress relief ball application on pain intensity in women aged 18-45 years with dysmenorrhea.