The Effect of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) on Pain Intensity and Menstruation Symptoms

The most important indicator of the fertility period, which has an important place in a woman's life, is the menstrual cycle, which begins with menarche and continues until menopause. In this natural process that takes place every month physiologically, some women experience significant pain \[1\]. This condition, defined as dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation), is classified in two ways as primary dysmenorrhea (PD) and secondary dysmenorrhea (SD) \[2,3\]. PD is the most common women's health problem, especially in adolescents and young adults (10-20 years of age) \[1,5\]. When studies on the incidence and severity of primary dysmenorrhea are examined, the incidence of PD is seen at rates ranging from 40-90% \[5-8\]. The main goal of the treatment approach to PD, which negatively affects women's quality of life in many ways, is to relieve the woman by reducing the pain. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the non-pharmacological and integrated treatment methods for women with primary dysmenorrhea. This practice, which is also referred to as EFT stroke/touch in most sources, is based on expressing the problem by touching the energy meridian points of the body, as in acupuncture and acupressure. Considering the results of the studies, it can be said that EFT is effective in the management of pain and the negative effects caused by the restrictions in the life of the person (social and daily living activities, etc.) \[27-30\]. Thanks to EFT, it is thought that women will contribute to the reduction of the fear and anxiety of experiencing pain just before menstruation and the anxiety that their life will be limited due to this. Studies investigating the effect of EFT on pain have reported that it is effective in coping with pain \[33-35\]. However, no randomized controlled study was found in the literature search for the application of EFT in high school students with dysmenorrhea. For this reason, it is thought that if EFT is applied in this age period with