Vitamin K acupuncture pint injection for severe primary dysmenorrhea: an international pilot study.

Context: Vitamin K acupuncture point injection, a menstrual pain treatment derived from traditional Chinese medicine, has been a standard treatment in some hospitals in China since the 1980s.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of vitamin K acupuncture point injection on menstrual pain in young women aged 14 to 25 from different countries and cultural backgrounds who have had unmitigated severe primary dysmenorrhea for 6 months or more.

Design: Prospective, observational, clinical pilot study

Settings: One site in China (a hospital outpatient clinic in Shanghai) and 2 sites in Italy (a hospital clinic in Milan and a private gynecology practice in Verona).

Interventions: All subjects were treated with bilateral acupuncture point injection of vitamin K on the first or second day of menstrual pain. Vitamin K3 was used in China and vitamin K4 in Italy.

Main Outcome Measures: Pain intensity, total duration, and average intensity of menstrual distress, hours in bed, normal daily activity restrictions, and numbers of analgesic tablets taken to relieve pain were recorded before the treatment and for 4 subsequent menstrual cycles.

Results: Noticeable pain relief was observed 2 minutes after treatment, and subsequent pain reduction occurred at 30 minutes (P < .001). Subjects reported significantly fewer daily life restrictions, fewer hours in bed, less consumption of analgesic tablets, and lower scores of menstrual pain duration and intensity (P < .001). There were no adverse events. Some women experienced mild, self-limited pain at the injection site.

Conclusion: Acupuncture point injection with vitamin K alleviated acute menstrual pain, and relief extended through the nontreatment follow-up cycles in this uncontrolled pilot study conducted in 2 countries. Further investigation employing controlled experimental designs is warranted.