The effect of balance taping for prevention of menstrual pain in female middle school students.
Keun-Sang Yum, Sung-Goo Kang, Hyun-Jin Han
PMID 28603351WHAT IT FOUND
Balance taping lowered reported menstrual pain more than medication or control over 24 hours in 125 middle school students, but the study was single-site and allocation was not described.
Key findings
01In the taping group, VAS pain scores were significantly lower than in the control and medication groups, falling from 6.91 before treatment to 0.36 at 24 hours.
02The medication group's VAS pain score was lowest at 4 hours after one Tylenol dose, at 4.17, then rose to 5.02 at 8 hours and 5.13 at 24 hours.
03After taping, 2 students reported skin allergic reactions, 1 reported dizziness, and 30 reported no side effects.
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What it does not show
The study included only female students from one middle school, so results may not apply to other ages, schools, or countries. The paper does not say how participants were assigned to groups, and it does not report blinding, so allocation and expectation effects cannot be ruled out. The taping group had 33 participants, while the control and medication groups had 46 each, so the groups were not balanced. Only one taping session and one 500 mg Tylenol dose were compared, and midterm or final exam periods were an exception, so usual treatment patterns are not captured. Pain was measured only to 24 hours, so longer-term relief or prevention of medication use was not tested. Students were selected for severe menstrual pain and no other causes, so findings may not apply to milder pain or secondary dysmenorrhea.
Declared interests
No funding statement or conflict-of-interest declaration is provided in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude balance taping is a proven replacement for pain medication. This was one school, allocation was not described, the taping group had 33 participants, and only one 500 mg Tylenol dose was compared.