The Effect of Zumba Exercise on Reducing Menstrual Pain in Young Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To study the effectiveness of performing Zumba exercise on the severity and duration of pain in patients with primary dysmenorrhea.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial.

SETTING

Cairo University gynecology Hospital and Bahgat gym and fitness center.

PARTICIPANTS

Ninety-eight women diagnosed with primary dysmenorrhea.

INTERVENTIONS

Study participants were divided randomly into 2 equal groups: group I included women who engaged in Zumba exercise for 60 minutes twice weekly for 8 weeks, and group II was a control group with no intervention.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome was the menstrual pain intensity measured using the visual analogue scale scores at 4 and 8 weeks after starting Zumba exercise. The secondary outcome was the difference in the duration of pain in both groups.

RESULTS

Both groups were homogeneous regarding the baseline demographic characteristics. The severity of primary dysmenorrhea at the beginning of the study was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Menstrual pain intensity was significantly decreased in the Zumba group after 4 and 8 weeks of Zumba compared with the control group (mean difference, -2.94 [95% confidence interval, -3.39 to -2.48] and -3.79 [95% confidence interval, -4.16 to -3.43], respectively; P = .001). Also, the duration of pain was shorter in the Zumba group compared with the control group at 8 weeks (4.92 ± 1.90 vs 9.10 ± 2.92 hours, respectively; P = .001).

CONCLUSION

The Zumba intervention can reduce the severity and duration of menstrual pain thus suggesting that regularly performing Zumba might be a possible complementary treatment for primary dysmenorrhea.