Effectiveness of Physical Activity and Relaxation Techniques in Primary Dysmenorrhea among College Students

Dysmenorrhea is the one of the leading cause of the females recurrent short term absenteeism in school and workplaces. So equipping adolescent girls with adequate information and skills on menstrual care helps in empowering them with knowledge which enhances their self- esteem and positively impacts their academic performance. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of physical activity and relaxation techniques in reducing pain intensity and menstruation related depression among adolescent girls. METHODOLOGY: 30 students from MTIMS, Ernakulam were selected and divided into two groups: Experimental group and Control group, after fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Each Group consists of 15 students. Experimental group was given physical activities including stretching, core strengthening and relaxation technique and control group was given only relaxation technique. Both groups received intervention for 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The outcome measures are assessed using VAS and Beck Depression Inventory Scale for pain and depression respectively. RESULTS: In this study, while within the group comparison, both groups are showed reduction in pain and depression. While comparing between the groups in case of pain and depression, there is a huge change in mean value but the p value is greater than 0.05 and hence it is not significant and it shows there are no comparable changes between groups. CONCLUSION: Both physical activity and relaxation techniques are very effective in reducing menstruation related pain and depression. But cant suggest one over another since there is no any difference between both control and exercise group.