"Can acupressure achieve a sustained reduction in menstrual pain Is an appbased selfcare program particularly attractive to young women These questions addressed in a new study by researchers from Charit  Universittsmedizin Berlin the results of which have been published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Approximately  to  percent of young women experience pain during their periods. While this pain primarily manifests itself as lower abdominal cramping other symptoms include headache backache nausea and diarrhea. Acupressure is a technique derived from traditional Chinese medicine TCM. In contrast to acupuncture this technique can be used as a form of selfcare and is suitable for use at home. Rather than using needles this technique involves massage or pressure being applied to specific points on the body.  The researchers wanted to evaluate whether in a group of women suffering from severe menstrual pain aged between  and  selfacupressure would be more effective at achieving a sustained reduction in menstrual pain than usual care alone e.g. pain medication and hormonal contraceptives. A total of  participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups both of which received a study app and short introduction. Acupressurebased features  with instructions on how to administer selfacupressure shortly before and during menstruation  were only made available to the intervention group. One advantage of an appbased intervention is its ability to provide visual descriptions of the pressure points users need to target in order to achieve the desired effect. It can also send regular reminders. Additionally the app was used to collect all studyrelated data.  Initially we simply wanted to conduct a study on the use of selfcare techniques for menstrual pain. However the women who were involved during the planning stages all of whom were affected by menstrual pain wanted an app reports the studys principal investigator Prof. Dr. Claudia Witt of the Institute of Social Medicine Epidemiology and Health Economics. The app helped participants to apply simple selfacupressure techniques to three different acupressure points.  After three months  percent of participants in the acupressure group reported a  percent reduction in pain intensity. After six months this proportion had increased to more than half of the women in this group  percent. Only  percent of women in the control group reported a similar reduction in pain intensity at both the month and month marks. Women in the acupressure group also used less pain medication than women in the control group and reported lower levels of pain overall.  We were surprised to see that after six months two thirds of participants continued to use selfacupressure. So far research into the clinical effectiveness of apps has been limited and only a few have been tested using randomized controlled trials says Dr. Daniel Pach of the Institute of Social Medicine Epidemiology and Health Economics. He adds We were able to show that apps can be evaluated in a clinical trial setting. However despite our experience with conventional clinical trials there was a lot for us to learn  something we found both exciting and eyeopening. The app Luna httpsitunes.apple.comdeapplunaselbsthilfeidmt has recently been updated and optimized for use with iOS.  Susanne Bldt Daniel Pach Sanna von EisenhartRothe Fabian Lotz Stephanie Roll Katja Icke Claudia M. Witt Effectiveness of appbased selfacupressure for women with menstrual pain compared to usual care a randomized pragmatic trial. In American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Volume  Issue  February  Pages .e.e. DOI .j.ajog....  Contact  Prof. Dr. Claudia Witt  Institute of Social Medicine Epidemiology and Health Economics  Charit  Universittsmedizin Berlin  t       Email claudia.wittcharite.de mailtoclaudia.wittcharite.de  Links  httpsepidemiologie.charite.deen  httpsepidemiologie.charite.demetasmeldungartikeldetailluna german"