A study on dysmenorrhea in female undergraduate students at Mae Fah Luang University applying the Mahachotarat scripture of Thai traditional medicine

Abstract

This study aimed to examine dysmenorrhea in terms of pain intensity, symptoms, and self-care techniques prior to and during the menstrual period applying the theory in the ‘Mahachotarat’ scripture of Thai traditional medicine. The participants were 382 female undergraduate students in the first semester of the academic year 2019 at Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand. The data were collected using survey questionnaires to assess the participants’ feeling of pain, symptoms based on the Mahachotarat scripture, and self-care techniques to reduce the severity of symptoms prior to and during their menstrual period. According to the findings, a majority of the participants experienced mild to perceptible pain prior to and during their menstrual period accompanied by mood(heart)-related symptoms (71.0% and 71.5%), followed by tendon-related symptoms (65.7% and 70.2%), emotion(bile)-related symptoms (55.2% and 53.7%), bone-related symptoms (51.8% and 53.1%), and skin-related symptoms (50.8% and 52.9%). In terms of their self-care techniques, most of the participants reported alleviating pain by practicing acupressure (88.7% and 86.9%), followed by refraining from taking analgesics (87.2% and 85.3%), massaging painful spots with a hot compress together with drinking a hot beverage (52.6% and 51.8%), and taking a rest (79.1% and 72.8%).