The Effect of SuJok Application on Dysmenorrhea and Quality of Life in Young People With Primary Dysmenorrhea:

NCT06983600 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: 149972
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 100
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Menarche, which is one of the most prominent features of maturation in adolescents and the transition from childhood to adulthood, causes many problems. The most prominent of these complaints is dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea, the most common form of dysmenorrhea, is a gynecological disorder characterized by pain that starts in the lower abdomen before or during menstruation and radiates to the waist and legs. Primary dysmenorrhea is seen especially in women under 25 years of age and within 6-12 months after menarche. Dysmenorrhea is a preventable and treatable disease. There are pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic methods in the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Pharmacologic methods include NSAIDs and hormonal contraceptives. Nonpharmacological methods used in the treatment of dysmenorrhea include hot application, regulation of nutrition, relaxation exercises, massage, yoga, reflexology, acupuncture, acupressure, TENS method, vitamins B and E, calcium, magnesium, zinc supplements, fennel and rose teas, ginger, aromotherapy applications. In addition to pharmacological methods, nonpharmacological methods are frequently used in the treatment of dysmeorrhea. People have recently turned to alternative medicine in the treatment of diseases in order to get rid of the side effects of drugs. Today, medicine is constantly developing and new treatment options are emerging. The treatment method that has recently started to be used and its effect has been seen is SuJok therapy. SuJok therapy was developed in 1986 by South Korean scientist Professor Park Jae Woo. In Korean, "Su" means hand and "Jok" means foot. In SuJok therapy, hands and feet are used as a treatment method. In SuJok, the hands and feet are a miniature replica of the body and have maximum structural similarity to the human body in anatomical terms. Every organ in our body has reflection points on the hands and feet. Thus, it activates all organs in our body with hands and feet. With the SuJok therapy method, it is argued that by using various techniques with the reflections of the body in the hand and foot points of the body, the organ and body area are physically stimulated and the energy in the body is activated and healing occurs. In the literature, studies on SuJok therapy applications are limited and there are no studies showing the effect of SuJok application on primary dysmenorrhea.

Conditions

Dysmenorrhea (Disorder); Alternative Treatment

Keywords

alternative treatment; primary dysmenorrhea, quality of life

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Pre and Post Intervention Dysmenorrhea Follow-up Form

  1\. In the first part, the premenstrual dysmenorrhea follow-up form is applied. The pain felt in the form is evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). 0-10; 0- No pain, 10- Worst pain.

  Pain intensity reported at baseline, day 1 and day 10 of menstruation after intervention

• World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Short Form (WHOQOL-BREF)

  WHOQOL-BREF is a valid and reliable scale developed by the World Health Organization to assess health-related quality of life. The short form of the scale includes 27 questions. These questions give physical, mental, social and environmental scores. The score that each area can get independently of each other is between 4-20. The increase in the score indicates an increase in quality of life.

  Pain intensity reported at baseline, day 1 and day 10 of menstruation after intervention

• Dysmenorrhea Follow-up Form after Sujok therapy application

  After the su jok therapy applied during menstruation, a dysmenorrhea follow-up form is applied. The pain felt in the form is evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). 0-10; 0- No pain, 10- The worst pain.

  Pain intensity reported at baseline, day 1 and day 10 of menstruation after intervention

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Arm

EXPERIMENTAL

The female students in the study group will be pre-tested by the researcher during the 1st menstrual period before the application. Then, starting from the 1st day of the 2nd month menstrual period for a total of 10 days, the points will be sensitized and the painful point will be detected by the researcher with the macro bug in the hand and the ring in the mini system and the spiral in the hand. Then, moxa will be applied to the reflection point of the uterus and ovary for 2 minutes to 5 minutes. After the moxa application, the black pepper seed will be fixed to the painful point with the help of an airtight plaster. The black pepper seed will be kept for at least 4 hours and maximum 8-10 hours.

Other: alternative therapy:sujok therapy

Control Arm

NO INTERVENTION

In the control group, no application was made during and after the menstrual period.

Interventions

alternative therapy:sujok therapy OTHER

As of the first day of the menstrual period for a total of 10 days, the researcher will provide sensitization of the points and painful point detection with the ring and in-hand spiral in the hand macro insect and mini system. Then, moxa will be applied to the uterus and ovary reflection point between 2 minutes and 5 minutes. Moxa is a method that burns wormwood and treats it with the heat emitted to the skin by the smoke with perforated apparatus. It is one of the oldest treatment methods based on heat and plant healing. After the Moxa application, the black pepper seed will be fixed to the painful spot with the help of an air-tight plaster. The black pepper seed will be kept for at least 4 hours and maximum 8-10 hours.

Intervention Arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Months - 25 Years
• Sex: female
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Scoring menstrual pain 5 and above out of 10 points on the VAS Visual Pain Scale,
• Don't be nullipar,
• Regular mentruation for at least the last six months,
• Not having any gynecological diagnosis,
• Not having undergone any gynecological operation,
• Willingness and acceptance to participate in the study,
• In addition, students who do not have any lesions, infections, etc. that prevent the application of water jok therapy on the hands and feet

You may not qualify if:

• \- Scoring 4 or less out of 10 points on the VAS Visual Pain Scale,
• Participants who volunteered to participate in the study and wanted to leave at any stage

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Muş Alparslan University: lead
• Hasan Kalyoncu University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Hasan Kalyoncu University

Gaziantep, Merkez, 27010, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dysmenorrhea

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Menstruation Disturbances; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Pelvic Pain; Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: research assistant

Model Details: Randomized Controlled Study

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 3, 2025
• First Posted: May 21, 2025
• Study Start: January 30, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 30, 2025
• Study Completion: August 30, 2025
• Last Updated: March 17, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF, CSR
• Time Frame: The study is planned to be finalized from April 2025 to September 2025. the translation of the results into an article is planned to be done until December 2025.
• Access Criteria: For variables with two groups, the independent groups t-test and the non-parametric Mann Whitney U test, and for variables with at least three or more groups, the one-way analysis of variance and the non-parametric Kruskall Wallis H test were considered. In the analysis of the differences and changes between two measurements over time in groups, the t-test was used in dependent groups in groups that met the assumption of normal distribution, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used in groups that did not meet the assumption of normal distribution. Again, in the analysis of the differences and changes between three or more measurements according to time in the groups, it was planned to use one-way analysis of variance in repeated measures in groups that meet the assumption of normal distribution, and Friedman test in groups that do not meet the assumption of normal distribution. Statistical significance level will be accepted as p\<0.05 in all tests.

Locations

TU (1)