Primary Dysmenorrhea Severity in Athletic vs. Non-Athletic Females

Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as colic pain in the lower abdomen which starts with the onset of menstruation. It is one of the most common gynecological disorders, an important cause of morbidity, and the most common cause of pelvic pain in menstruating girls and women it affects women in any age group. The prevalence varies widely, ranging from 17% to as high as 91%. Between 16% to 29% of women with dysmenorrhea have significant impairment in quality of life and the women's well-being. The rate of absenteeism from school, work, or other activities represents up to 15% of women with dysmenorrhea, dysmenorrhea is considered a source of considerable economic losses due to the costs of medications, medical care, and decreased productivity. Yoga, pilates, stretching, and other types of exercises have a noticeable effect on decreasing pain, and improving general health, and quality of sleep with different health conditions including primary dysmenorrhea. In addition, exercise and physical activity are used widely and proven to not only decrease pain but also improve quality of life, decrease stress, improve mental health, and in management of depression and stress.

For dysmenorrhea the mechanism that explained the effect of exercises on primary dysmenorrhea has been classified according to the intensity of the exercises; moderate -high-intensity exercise was believed to increase the anti-inflammatory cytokines, decrease the overall amount of prostaglandins released because of the decrease of the overall amount of menstrual flow. Low-intensity exercise reduces cortisol levels and prostaglandin synthesis

Inclusion criteria

• Common inclusion criteria for athletic and non-athletic female.

• They had a regular menstrual cycle with a menstrual cycle length of 21-30 days.
• All females were virgins.
• Their ages ranged from 18 to 28 years old.
• Their BMI was ranged from 18.5 -29,9 kg/m2
• They did not use any pharmacological therapies for controlling pain during menstruation and during the application of the study.

Inclusion criteria

athletic female:

• They participated in the exercise for the last ≥ 6 months.
• They did exercises for ≥ 3 days/ week.
• They practiced (swimming, basketball, volleyball, ballet, gymnastics, judo, wrestling, karate, and boxing).

Exclusion criteria

• History of pelvic pathology or any gynecological disease.
• They had a history of chronic illness (eg: diabetes).
• Their symptoms of dysmenorrhea became worse over time