Comparative Effects of Aerobic Exercises and Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation Technique in Primary Dysmenorrhea

Official title

Comparative Effects of Aerobic Exercises and Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation Technique on Pain, Fatigue and Quality of Life in Primary Dysmenorrhea

Overview

The study will focus on the comparative effects of aerobic exercises and Jacobson's progressive relaxation technique on pain, fatigue and quality of life in primary dysmenorrhea. This study will be a randomized clinical trial and will be conducted in, Superior college depalpur and Army public schools and college Lahore (APSACS). Non probability convenience sampling will be used to collect the data.64 participants will be selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria and will be equally divided into two groups by sealed opaque enveloped .Participants having age group between 17-24 years and diagnosed with WaLiDD score are included.

Detailed description

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) refers to menstrual pain without organic lesions in the pelvic cavity , which mainly manifests as spastic pain and distension above the symphysis pubis in the lower abdomen before and after or during menstruation, radiating to the lumbosacral region and inner thigh. PD is a common gynecological disorder affecting 50%-90% of women. The study will focus on the comparative effects of aerobic exercises and Jacobson's progressive relaxation technique on pain, fatigue and quality of life in primary dysmenorrhea.

This study will be a randomized clinical trial and will be conducted in, Superior college depalpur and Army public schools and college Lahore (APSACS). Non probability convenience sampling will be used to collect the data.64 participants will be selected on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria and will be equally divided into two groups by sealed opaque enveloped .Participants having age group between 17-24 years and diagnosed with WaLiDD score are included. Athletes and married women will be excluded. Outcome measures will be taken using Numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) for pain, EQ-5D-5L questionnaire for quality of life, fatigue assessment scale for fatigue. Both Groups will receive same baseline treatment which is core muscle strength. Group A will receive aerobic exercises and Group B will receive Jacobson\'s progressive relaxation technique for 3 times in a week. The treatment will be given for 8 weeks. Outcome measures will be measured at baseline and after 8 weeks. Data analysis will be done by SPSS version 25.

Interventions

• Other aerobic exercises
  Group A Duration of forty five minutes Warm up exercises for 10 minutes. Free active movement of upper limb, lower limb, and upper body, cross toe to touch dynamic stretches such as lunges, Achilles tendon and hamstrings stretching. The aerobic workout duration will be 25mins.. The aerobic exercise involved the following steps with15reps of each exercise and while changing the step slow marching step for 15second and then move towards the next step. single step touch, double step touch, step to
• Other Jacobson's relaxation technique
  Group B Jacobson's relaxation technique is a type of therapy that focuses on tightening and relaxing specific muscle groups in a sequence that makes you feel calmer and makes you aware of your body and physical sensations. It is also known as PMRT. (39) JPRT was applied three times a week from the estimated date of ovulation to the onset of the next menstruation. . The participants were in a supine position and were supported with cushions. The JPRT involves participants actively contracting mus

Primary outcome measures

• WaLlDD relaxation technique on pain, fatigue and quality of life in primary dysmenorrhea. [Time frame: 2 months]
• Fatigue Assessment Scale [Time frame: 2 months]
• EQ-5D-5-L-Questionnaire [Time frame: 2 months]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Pain on numeric rating pain scale,
• Menarche range 12-16,
• BMI less than 30,
• Having a regular menstrual cycle (28-32) days,
• Normal bleeding days (3 to 1) and diagnosed with mild PD according to WaLiDD score

Exclusion criteria

• Athletes,
• married women with gynaecological abnormalities were excluded,
• Medical treatment during the study (e.g., oral contraceptives, antidepressants)
• Recent musculoskeletal trauma or surgery, or chronic musculoskeletal disorders
• affecting pain perception (e.g., fibromyalgia, pelvic floor dysfunction)
• secondary dysmenorrhea-related conditions (e.g., endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts),
• consumption of painkillers
• No mental or physical diseases, which reduce the abilities to exercise

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Double blind

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Pakistan · 1 center

• Superior college for women and Polytechnic institute — Okāra

Publications

• Gittens A, Griffiths-Bandoo S, Eccleston A, Irving SW, Dawkins JJJMCNS. How Does Primary Dysmenorrhea Impact the Quality of Life of Young Women Ages (18-35) in a Selected Community in St. James, Jamaica. 2025;3(2):1-4.
• Wu X, Yuan J, Ni J, Ma X, Zhang Z, Hua Y, et al. Electroacupuncture with different waveforms for primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized controlled trial. 2024;11(3):357-62.
• Esan DT, Ariyo SA, Akinlolu EF, Akingbade O, Olabisi OI, Olawade DB, et al. Prevalence of dysmenorrhea and its effect on the quality of life of female undergraduate students in Nigeria. 2024;5:100059.
• Dar M, Khan A, Shah SS, Aleem A, Jaber AAS, Hussain M, Khan GM. Evaluation of health-related quality of life of female students suffering from primary dysmenorrhea: findings of a cross-sectional study from Pakistan. Front Public Health. 2025 Apr 24;13:1467377. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1467377. eCollection 2025. PMID 40342508
• Raule EB, Sapulete IM, Engka JNAJJII. Relationship Between Premenstrual Syndrome (Pms) And Appetite In Female Medical Students At Sam Ratulangi University. 2025;4(1):1071-9.

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07628452 · REC/RCR&AHS/25/0514

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗