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Instructor/Advisor

Dr. Amy Shafrir

Keywords

pain management, pelvic pain

Abstract

Pelvic pain is common among reproductive-aged females. There are various treatments and therapies to help manage symptoms, but alternative pain management strategies would significantly benefit from more research and awareness. Specifically, this directed study focuses on analyzing aspects that affect pelvic pain and whether certain management strategies make pelvic pain better or worse. We utilized a cross-sectional study to analyze data from a specific population at a certain point in time. Participants were included in the study if they were a current Merrimack College undergraduate student, aged 18-25 years old, female, experienced pelvic pain in the last 6 months, with a severity of 4 or greater on 0-10 pain rating scale (0=no pain, 10=worst pain imaginable). Participants were recruited to this study through promotional flyers hung up around campus and the study is listed on the SONA research platform at Merrimack College. Our questionnaire asked about general demographics, menstrual characteristics, pelvic pain symptoms, use of hormonal and non-hormonal medications, pelvic pain characteristics, and different pain management strategies. For the poster, we will investigate whether or not pain management strategies improve or worsen pain for this with period pain and those with general pelvic pain. Analyses will be conducted using SPSS v30. As of March 17th, 55 participants had completed the study questionnaire. Almost 50% of participants with period pain reported that exercise made their pain better although 34% reported that exercise made their pain worse. Results will be updated for the poster.

Impact of Pain Management Strategies on Pelvic Pain

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