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Herbs "more helpful" than drugs for Menstrual pain

Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:34am EDT

HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A study involving nearly 3,500 women in several countries suggests that Chinese herbs might be more effective in relieving menstrual cramps than drugs, acupuncture or heat compression.

Australia-based researchers said herbs not only relieved pain, but reduced the recurrence of the condition over three months, according to the Cochrane Library journal.

"All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), OCPs (oral contraceptive pill), acupuncture and heat compression," said lead author Xiaoshu Zhu from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.

Period pain affects as many as 50 percent of women of reproductive age and between 60 percent to 85 percent of teenaged girls, leading to absences from school and work.

While the cause is still under debate, it is believed to be linked to an imbalance in ovarian hormones.

Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat the condition for hundreds of years and women are increasingly looking for non-drug treatments.

The survey involved 39 trials -- 36 in China, and one each in Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands.

Participants given herbal concoctions were prescribed herbs that regulated their 'qi' (energy) and blood, warmed their bodies and boosted their kidney and liver functions.

In one trial involving 36 women, 53 percent of those who took herbs reported less pain than usual compared with 26 percent in the placebo group.

But the researchers said more studies were needed because of the relatively small numbers of participants in each of the trials.

November 2007
Volume 5, Number 11

Herbal Energy Boost: Ginseng and Cordyceps

Herbs "More Helpful" than Drugs for Menstrual Pain

Healthy Alternative to the Typical Thanksgiving Dinner

Recent Research

Ask The Doctor

Yi Wei Xiao

Treats Painful Menstruation
 

Feminine Desire Yin/Yang Tonic

Libido Enhancement for Women

Ba Zhen Wan

Nourishes the Blood & Helps with Menstrual Disorders

Passages PMS & Menopause Capsules

A Special Formula to Help Balance and Fortify a Woman's Body

Evening Primrose Oil

Helps Reduce PMS Symptoms

Self-Healing Chi Gong

Strengthen & Balance the Mind and Body

Creative Feminine Balance Tea

A Delicate Herbal Tea Blend that Nourishes and Balances the Body