SURVEY OF THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON DYSMENORRHEA BETWEEN HIGH AND LOW LOAD EXERCISE GROUPS

Authors

Callie L. Unrein, University of South CarolinaFollow
Hailey E. Karns, University of South CarolinaFollow
Katelynn T. Persaud, University of South CarolinaFollow
Kaitlyn T. Ramey, University of South CarolinaFollow
Trisha A. VanDusseldorp, Bonafide Health, LLC p/b JDS TherapeuticsFollow
Catherine Saenz, The Ohio State UniversityFollow
Katie R. Hirsch, University of South CarolinaFollow

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Women use many strategies to help alleviate dysmenorrhea which is defined as pain during menstruation; however, little is known about exercise as a potential strategy. The purpose of this study is to characterize how exercise affects menstrual pain between high and low load exercise groups. METHODS: The data analyzed in this study was taken from a larger survey characterizing current strategies women use to manage dysmenorrhea. 145 women (Age: 31.5±8.7yrs; Race: Asian, n=2, Black, n=6, Hispanic, n=3, Multiracial, n=12, Native American, n=1, No response, n=14, White, n=107) were separated into HIGH (>2000 MET-min/wk; n=70) and LOW (≤ 2000 MET-min/wk; n=75) exercise load groups. MET-min/wk were calculated based on frequency, duration, and intensity of exercise per week. Responses to the question “how does exercise impact menstrual pain” were tallied to evaluate how symptoms of dysmenorrhea were affected between high and low exercise load groups. Multiple responses were allowed for this question. Descriptives and frequencies were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. A chi-square test of independence was used to compare how exercise impacted menstrual pain between HIGH and LOW groups. RESULTS: For HIGH, 42.3% reported pain improvements, 5.6% reported no changes, 22.5% reported pain worsening with exercise and 29.6% reported “other”. For LOW, 49.4% reported pain improvements, 7.8% reported no changes, 10.2% reported pain worsening with exercise and 32.5% reported “other”. There was no significant association between exercise load and menstrual pain between HIGH and LOW groups (X2 =4.12, df=3, n=148, p=0.250). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that there was no significant difference in how exercise impacted menstrual pain between individuals who are high or low load exercisers. However, more research should be done to determine how exercise intensity within an individual exercise bout affects dysmenorrhea.

Recommended Citation

Unrein, Callie L.; Karns, Hailey E.; Persaud, Katelynn T.; Ramey, Kaitlyn T.; VanDusseldorp, Trisha A.; Saenz, Catherine; and Hirsch, Katie R. (2024) "SURVEY OF THE EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON DYSMENORRHEA BETWEEN HIGH AND LOW LOAD EXERCISE GROUPS," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 16: Iss. 3, Article 313.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol16/iss3/313