Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea

Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is a common female disease during menstruating. Although nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug is an effective treatment, there are concerns about side effects. Alternative therapies, including acupuncture and moxibustion, are commonly used for PD. Nevertheless, traditional Chinese medicine takes longer period than Western medicine to release PD. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) originally for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases has characteristics of fast curative effect and no wound. Currently there is no report about clinical use of ESWT for the treatment of PD. Our study is to determine whether ESWT is effective in the treatment of PD based on meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine. The investigators hypothesis that ESWT during PD is more effective than ESWT before PD or abdominal hot paste during PD without ESWT.