Menstrual Characteristics and Prevalence and Impact of Dysmenorrhea among Female Physiotherapy Students Aged 18-25 Years

Menstruation is a normal physiological event that occurs in females of reproductive age. Menstrual characteristics show a lot of variance within women and this variance is associated with behavioural, occupational, and environmental and host factors. In females, painful menstruation (dysmenorrhea) is a common phenomenon and it has many uncomfortable effects on day to day activities of females. The current schedule based survey study was conducted on 70 female physiotherapy students aged 18-25 years. Their demographic profiles and detailed menstrual characteristics were studied. Out of the total 70 participants, 44 (62.9 percent) participants attained menarche in the age of 12-14 years, bleeding lasted for 6 or less days (95.8 percent), and a positive family history of dysmenorrhea (62.9 percent) was reported. Majority of females reported back pain (78.5 percent), abdominal pain (70 percent) and pain in legs (62.8 percent) as the premenstrual symptoms. Among the symptoms experienced during menstruation, back pain, abdomen pain, tiredness, irritation, and altered mood were reported that affected their Activities of Daily Living. Only 18.6 percent participants opted to consult a gynaecologist for the discomfort experienced during menstruation. Rest and application of hot pack were commonly adopted methods to relieve symptoms associated with menstruation. Menstrual characteristics and symptoms associated with menstruation have a slightly negative impact on the activities of female physiotherapy students; therefore it is important to have a deeper insight into the management of dysmenorrhea.