Management of Primary Dysmenorrhoea by Dry Cupping and Herbal Unani Drug

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common menstrual cramps with high prevalence rate is responsible for the highest incidence of absenteeism resulting in loss of working hours. Thus, proper treatment is essential to over the hardship, the objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Dry Cupping with Herbal Unani drug in the management of Primary Dysmenorrhoea.  A randomized, standard controlled clinical trial was conducted in OPD of Deoband Unani Medical College & Research Centre (DUMCH-RC),Saharanpur, UPfrom August 2014 to February 2016. Diagnosed case of primary dysmenorrhoea aged between 12-30 years were included. A total of 60 subjects were assigned randomly to the interventions. The test group A (n=20) received 3gm of herbal drug namely hulba(Trigonella foenumgraecum) twice daily from day 1 to day 3 of menstrual cycle. The test group B (n=20) received same dose of hulba with dry cupping. For hijamah three medium cups were applied below the umbilicus for 15 minutes on day 1 and day 3 of menstruation. Group C (n=20) is controlled group which received standard drug mefanamic acid, 500 mg twice daily for same duration as the test drug. These interventions were given for three consecutive cycles. The results were analyzed and compared statistically by using Analysis of variance (ANOVA), Chi-square or Fisher Exact test to find the significance of study parameters. The inter group comparison showed that group A was equally effective as group B and C (P>0.05), whereas group B was more- effective than group C (P=0.02) in reducing pain intensity. The associated symptoms were also improved in all groups. No adverse drug effects were observed. Dry cupping with hulba was more effective than mefanamic acid in reducing pain intensity and discomfort. Overall improvement were also observed in other associated symptoms. The dry cupping with hulba were found to be more effective in the management of primary dysmenorrhoea. Keywords: Primary dysmenorrhoea; Hulba; Dry Cupping; VAS;