COMPARISON OF MENSTRUAL PAIN SEVERITY ACCORDING TO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL.

Introduction and Purpose: Menstrual disorders are common problem during adolescence and affect approximately 75% of adolescents. Dysmenorrhea, defined as menstrual pain, is usually caused by severe uterine contractions due to prostaglandin secretion. Physical activity reduces menstrual pain and uterine contractions, especially by increasing beta-endorphin release and suppressing the prostaglandin release,.This study was planned to determine the effect of physical activity level on menstrual pain severity. Methods: 336 female cases aged over 18 years and with menstrual pain complaint in the majority of menstrual cycles were included in the present study. Menstrual pain severity was assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and participants were divided into 3 groups based on VAS score:"mild pain","moderate pain", and "severe pain" groups, respectively. Physical activity level was assessed by the "International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF)".According to the obtained scores, individuals were classified as "inactive", "minimally active" and "health enhancing phsically active (HEPA)". The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare IPAQ-SF scores between pain severity groups, and Spearman's Correlation test was used to examine the relationship between physical activity level and menstrual pain severity. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There was no significant correlation between physical activity level and menstrual pain severity and no statistically significant difference in the severity of menstrual pain between IPAQ groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Although this study didn't show any relationship between pain and physical activity level, further studies with larger samples with more varied levels of phsical activity are needed to determine the exact relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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