The Relationship Between Lower Abdominal Temperature and Pain in Women With Dysmenorrhoea During Acupuncture

This clinical study examined the effects of acupuncture at Sanyinjiao (SP6) on menstrual pain and lower abdominal skin temperature in women with dysmenorrhoea. Participants first completed a 20-minute resting session without acupuncture, which served as the control condition. After a washout period of at least one day, participants received six bilateral SP6 acupuncture sessions over three consecutive menstrual cycles, with two sessions in each cycle. Pain severity and lower abdominal skin temperature were measured immediately before and after the resting control session and each acupuncture session. In addition, peak menstrual pain on Day 1 and Day 2 was recorded during each of the three menstrual cycles in the acupuncture treatment phase and during three additional follow-up menstrual cycles after treatment. This allowed the study to examine both immediate changes in pain following acupuncture and longitudinal changes in peak menstrual pain across the treatment and follow-up periods. The study also explored whether changes in lower abdominal skin temperature were associated with changes in pain severity, and assessed the safety and feasibility of the study procedures.