Clinical Study Title:
Herbal and dietary therapies for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea.

Plain English Summary:

The pain of menstruation can be debilitating for many women. To treat dysmenorrhea, or painful menstrual cramps, many women use over the counter medicines such as ibuprofen. This however doesn't work for all cramps, as many as 25% of all cramping is not affected by pain relieving over the counter medicines. In recent years, there have been many attempts to find a more natural means to alleviate menstrual cramps, as continued use of that kind of over the counter medicines can have a negative effect on the body. Various dietary supplements were tried individually against a placebo to determine how well it aided in reducing the pain of cramps. The results of this study indicated that women who took the placebo had no improvement in pain, while those who took magnesium reported a small decline in menstrual cramp pain, and women who took thiamine or vitamin B1 reported a significant reduction in cramps. The daily use of thiamine therefore can help to alleviate dysmenorrhea.

Authors

Wilson ML. Murphy PA.

Institution

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National Women's Hospital, Claude Road, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand, 1003.

Country of Publication

England

Source

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.(3):CD002124, 2001.