Effect of Core Stability Exercises on Primary Dysmenorrhea and Muscular Fitness Indices in Teenage Girls

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of core stability exercises on physical fitness of core muscles and primary dysmenorrhea inteenage girls. Participants of the study included 30 teenage girls with primary dysmenorrhea. Participants were assigned into either the exercise group (n=15) or control (n=15) group randomly. All subjects completed the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) to measure symptoms of dysmenorrhea. Abdominal muscle endurance, balance and trunk flexibility of participants were measured respectively by sit up, one leg stance and Wels tests. Measurements were performed before and after the exercise period. The exercise group performed core muscle exercises for 8 weeks, 3 days a week. During this period control group did not participate in any kind of exercises. Analysis of variance with repeated measures and Pearson correlation tests were used for data analysis. The result showed that core muscle exercises reduced dysmenorrhea symptoms (p=0.001), increased endurance of abdominal muscles (p=0.001), and flexibility (p=0.04) in exercise group. However, core muscle exercises did not change balance significantly (p>0.05). Dysmenorrhea changes were negatively related to physical fitness changes (r=0.55, p=0.002). Core muscle exercises can be used as a treatment to reduce the severity of dysmenorrhea which may be associated with increasing core muscle fitness indices.