Acupuntura auricular como recurso terapêutico atuante na sintomatologia da dismenorreia em estudantes universitárias

Abstract

Dysmenorrhea is a condition that affects women's quality of life, being classified into primary (most common and without associated disease) and secondary (from a pathology). Ear acupuncture is a treatment based on the insertion of needles and/or massage in specific points of the ear to improve body function. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of auricular acupuncture as a therapeutic resource on dysmenorrhea symptomatology in undergraduate students. This is a semi-experimental research through the application of 2 questionnaires: one sociodemographic and another for student evaluation before and after the sessions. After the intervention, patients with high intensity, that is, who suffered with the worst possible pain of dysmenorrhea primary type on the first day of the cycle, decreased from 28.6% to 2.4%. In the secondary, 41.7% of patients reported having the worst possible pain on the first day of the menstrual cycle, reducing to 25% after therapy. On the last day of primary flow, before treatment, 14.3% had pain cessation and after sessions, the percentage increased to 30.9%. On the last day of secondary, 16.7% of the students had moderate pain as the highest pain intensity, however, with the interventions, only 8.3% continued to have the same intensity.