Remedy 1: Heat Therapy

Remedy 1: Heat Therapy

What is it?

Heat therapy refers to applying a heat pad or a hot water bottle around the pelvic region to reduce menstrual cramps and back pain.

Regimen:

• What - hot water bottle, electric heating pads, heat wraps, medicated ketoprofen patches

• When - From the time that pain starts

• Details - Effective from 10-30 mins of application; optimal temperature = 40 degree Celsius; heat wraps can be applied for 8 hours at a time.

How does it work?

1. Heat therapy releases water retention and congestion, and thus helps in reducing menstrual pain

2. Helps reduce inflammation and increases blood circulation around the pelvic region¹.

What is the efficacy?

Methods: Across the three studies, a variety of methods were used to assess heat therapy for menstrual pain relief. Participants (mostly young women) were assigned to intervention groups including heated patches, oral analgesics, or no treatment, with pain measured via tools like the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) over 8–48 hours. All studies compared heat therapy alone or in combination with medications to evaluate its efficacy in reducing dysmenorrhea or PMS-related symptoms.^1,2,3

Results: All three studies found that heat therapy significantly reduced menstrual pain. In individual trials, heated patches provided pain relief comparable to or greater than ibuprofen, with faster onset when combined. The meta-analysis confirmed heat therapy was superior to placebo and comparable to analgesics, with a strong overall effect size. Heat consistently outperformed control and no-treatment groups.

Conclusion: All three studies concluded that heat therapy is an effective, non-invasive method for relieving menstrual pain, with efficacy comparable to standard analgesics. It can be used alone or in combination with medication and is a safe option for managing dysmenorrhea.

Side-effects:

Short-term effects: Skin redness, Skin itchiness

Long-term effects: Superficial burns (used for >12 hours per day)

References

1. Jo J, Lee SH. Heat therapy for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of its effects on pain relief and quality of life. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):16252. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34303-z

2. Potur DC, Kömürcü N. The effects of local low-dose heat application on dysmenorrhea. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology. 2014 Aug 1;27(4):216-21.

3. Akin MD, Weingand KW, Hengehold DA, Goodale MB, Hinkle RT, Smith RP. Continuous low-level topical heat in the treatment of dysmenorrhea. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2001 Mar 1;97(3):343-9.