Analysing the targeting of pressure points to ease pain, a team of researchers combined the consensus of acupressure experts from China, Germany and the US to develop a new app, AKUD. They assigned 221 women from 18–34 years old to test the app, by applying finger pressure on the body during intense cramps.
The result found that the acupressure app considerably reduced menstrual pain. “It is wise to try first non-pharmacological interventions, with a good safety profile, before using a painkiller that can have side effects,” declared the study’s senior author, Dr. Claudia Witt of the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, was conducted in Berlin and needs further research on a wider range of women. Still, Witt acknowledges that the study’s results represent a promising alternative to relieve our monthly cramps. “This app is relevant to women who are looking for evidenced-based self-care options to manage their pain,” she says.