Prevalance of Musculoskeletal Pain During Menstruation Amongmid and Late Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Menstrual pain is a common problem experienced by majority of adolescent girls. Musculoskeletal pain is associated to menstrual pain as its characteristics depend on the severity of menstrual pain. This type of pain may have an adverse effect on the physical, emotional, and social well-being and may lead to absenteeism from school/college during menstruation. This study was conducted on mid and late adolescent school/college going girls of age between 14 to 21 years based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The survey consisted of 15 questions related to musculoskeletal pain and menstruation. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) and the Nordic questionnaire were used to measure the intensity and musculoskeletal region of pain respectively. The results show that the most common area of pain during menstruation was low back (92.5%) followed by hips and thighs (33.3%). The intensity of pain in majority of female students was moderate (56%) followed by severe (28%) and mild (16%). Further the study concluded that majority of girls were having musculoskeletal pain during menstruation and was predominantly present in the lower back, hip and thighs. It was also concluded that most of the female students are unable to their daily activities and remain absent from school/college during menstruation.