Effects of TENS and Counseling on Menstrual Pain

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of different modalities of pain relief on pain intensity among females suffering from primary dysmenorrhea. A group of 60 females were selected on convenient basis and constituted their own control who have been already receiving medication during their dysmenorrhea before joining the study (1st cycle of the study). In the second cycle, the sample was divided into 2 sub-groups, 30 each. Sub- group (1) was assigned to TENS application and Sub-group (2) receiving counseling related to dysmenorrhea. Time series design was used for 3 consecutive menstrual cycles. The subjects were assessed twice (before and after) for pain intensity (by using visual analogue scale starting from zero (no pain) to 10 (endurable pain); and relief of associated symptoms when they stopped medication and when they either exposed to TENS or counseling. Several community settings were used to recruit the sample such as, work place and home settings. A structured interview was used to collect the data.