The effect of acupressure and massage on pain, menstrual symptoms and life quality in primary dysmenore

Aim: The study was conducted to determine the effects of acupressure and massage on pain severity, menstrual symptoms and quality of life in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Material and Method: The research was carried out with 267 students in a randomized controlled manner at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University between January 2021 and May 2021. Acupressure + massage was applied to one group of the sampled students in the study, and only massage was applied to one group. No intervention was applied to the control group. Personal Information Form, VAS, GMSSS and Short Form SF-12 for Quality of Life Scale were used to collect data. Results: It was determined that the difference between the VAS, GMSSS and SF-12 mean scores of the acupressure + massage, massage and control groups before the first cycle intervention was not statistically significant (p>0.05). It was determined that the pain and menstrual symptom levels of the acupressure + massage and massage groups were lower than the control group in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles after the intervention, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: It was found that acupressure and massage applied to those with primary dysmenorrhea reduced the pain level and menstrual symptom intensity, but did not affect the quality of life. Key Words: Acupressure, massage, primary dysmenorrhea, pain, menstrual symptom, quality of life, midwifery