The Effectiveness of Traction Massage Combined with Herbal Compress for Relieving Menstrual Cramps: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Background and objective: Menstrual cramps are a common gynecological symptom affecting up to 90% of women worldwide. They constitute one of the most prevalent causes of absenteeism from school, work, and social activities. The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of traction massage combined with herbal compress on menstrual cramps. Method: This research used an experimental design using a two-group pretest and posttest approach. A sample of 30 female students with menstrual cramps was randomly assigned to either the massage or control group. The experimental group (n = 15) received traction massage for 10 min, herbal compresses to the lower back, stomach, and anterior muscles of the legs for 15 min, and health-care advice in the week leading up to menstruation. The control group (n = 15) received healthcare advice only. Results: The intensity of menstrual cramps significantly decreased in the experimental group (p = 0.001). Additionally, the intervention led to a reduction in associated menstrual symptoms such as fatigue, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, irritability, nausea, vomiting, lower back pain, and general fatigue. Discussion: This study demonstrated that traction massage and herbal compresses significantly reduced the intensity of menstrual cramps in the experimental group. Although we did not measure muscle relaxation or blood flow, the results align with existing literature suggesting that massage therapy can alleviate menstrual discomfort. Additionally, the intervention led to a decrease in associated side effects, enhancing overall well-being during menstruation. Future studies should include physiological measurements to further explore these interventions' effects. Overall, incorporating traction massage and herbal compresses may improve the management of menstrual cramps effectively. Conclusion: The combination of traction massage and herbal compresses can serve as an effective option for relieving menstrual cramps and associated side effects when compared to receiving counseling alone.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.004 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.005 | 0.003 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.010 | 0.001 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".