Association between Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction and Dysmenorrhea: A Cross-sectional Study
Keywords:
dysmenorrhea, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, sacroiliac joint, dysfunction, menstrual health, menstrual distress, pelvic pain, female populationAbstract
Background
Pelvic pain during menstruation is a common issue for young females(1), significantly affecting daily activities and quality of life. Sacroiliac joint issues can contribute to pain experienced in lower back and pelvic areas(2). Hormonal changes during menstruation may weaken ligamentous support around this joint, increasing the risk of instability. Additionally, anatomical differences in females may contribute to higher rates of sacroiliac joint misalignment (3). Accurate diagnosis and treatment are essential, as misdiagnosis can perpetuate discomfort and negatively impact well-being. Addressing these issues is vital for improving health outcomes for women experiencing menstrual distress.
Methods
Non-probability sampling technique is used, where 314 females participated ranging between 17-24 years. Participants had to fill in a questionnaire, named Medi-Q to assess their level of dysmenorrhea, after which they were tested for SIJ Dysfunction through a series of tests called cluster of Laslett. SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyze data.
Results
The participants who had menstrual distress showed significantly positive sacroiliac joint dysfunction indicating a strong correlation of joint dysfunction with menstrual distress, when associated with the participants who didn’t experience menstrual distress.
Conclusion
There could possibly be a connection between sacroiliac joint dysfunction and menstrual distress, given the notable difference in sacroiliac joint dysfunction between individuals who reported menstruation distress and those who did not. In addition to advancing our knowledge of the variables affecting menstruation health, further investigation and study of this relationship may pave the path for specialized treatments or therapies.
References
Woodbury RA, Torpin R, Child GP, Watson H, Jarboe M. Myometrial physiology and its relation to pelvic pain. J Am Med Assoc. 1947 Jul 26;134(13):1081–5.
DonTigny RL. Function and pathomechanics of the sacroiliac joint: a review. Phys Ther. 1985 Jan 1;65(1):35–44.
Pelvic floor musculature. Contemporary views on female pelvic anatomy. Cleve Clin J Med. 2005 Dec 4;72 Suppl 3:S3.
Frontera WR, et al. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction. In: Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Musculoskeletal Disorders, Pain, and Rehabilitation. 4th ed. Elsevier; 2019.
Cher D, Polly D, Berven S. Sacroiliac joint pain: burden of disease. Med Devices (Auckl). 2014;7:73–81.
Park SG, Song SH, Jung JH, Joo YL, Yang YJ, Lee S. The effect of sacroiliac joint manual therapy on heart rate variability in women with primary dysmenorrhea. Phys Ther Rehabil Sci. 2020 Dec 30;9(4):252–60.
Vannuccini S, Rossi E, Cassioli E, Cirone D, Castellini G, Ricca V, et al. Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MEDI-Q): a new tool to assess menstruation-related distress. Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Dec 1;43(6):1107–16.
Bakhsh H, Algenaimi E, Aldhuwayhi R, AboWadaan M. Prevalence of dysmenorrhea among reproductive age group in Saudi women. BMC Womens Health. 2022 Dec;22(1):1–4.
Chen CX, Draucker CB, Carpenter JS. What women say about their dysmenorrhea: A qualitative thematic analysis. BMC Womens Health. 2018 Dec;18:1–8.
Genders W, Hopkins S, Lean E, Bull P. Dysmenorrhea and pelvic dysfunction: a possible clinical relationship. In: World Federation of Chiropractic Biennial Congress; 2001.
Kim MJ, Baek IH, Goo BO. The relationship between pelvic alignment and dysmenorrhea. J Phys Ther Sci. 2016 Mar;28(3):757–60.
Guimarães I, Póvoa AM. Primary dysmenorrhea: assessment and treatment. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2020 Sep 25;42:501–7.
Ju H, Jones M, Mishra G. The prevalence and risk factors of dysmenorrhea. Epidemiol Rev. 2014 Jan 1;36(1):104–13.
Zelle BA, Gruen GS, Brown S, George S. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction: evaluation and management. Clin J Pain. 2005 Sep 1;21(5):446–55.
Laslett M, Aprill CN, McDonald B, Young SB. Diagnosis of sacroiliac joint pain: validity of individual provocation tests and composites of tests. Man Ther. 2005 Aug 1;10(3):207–18.
Kural M, Noor NN, Pandit D, Joshi T, Patil A. Menstrual characteristics and prevalence of dysmenorrhea in college-going girls. J Family Med Prim Care. 2015 Jul;4(3):426.
Abenhaim HA, Harlow BL. Live births, cesarean sections and the development of menstrual abnormalities. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2006 Feb 1;92(2):111–6.
Fourquet J, Gao X, Zavala D, Orengo JC, Abac S, Ruiz A, et al. Patients’ report on how endometriosis affects health, work, and daily life. Fertil Steril. 2010 May 1;93(7):2424–8.
Vercellini P, Viganò P, Somigliana E, Fedele L. Endometriosis: pathogenesis and treatment. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2014 May;10(5):261–75.
Guimarães I, Póvoa AM. Primary dysmenorrhea: assessment and treatment. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2020 Sep 25;42:501–7.
Morrow C, Naumburg EH. Dysmenorrhea. Prim Care. 2009 Mar 1;36(1):19–32.
Proctor ML, Hing W, Johnson TC, et al. Spinal manipulation for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006;19:CD002119.
Walsh MJ, Polus BI. A randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of chiropractic therapy on premenstrual syndrome. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1999;22:582–5.
Matsumoto T, Ushiroyama T, Morimura M, Moritani T, Hayashi T, Suzuki T, et al. Autonomic nervous system activity in the late luteal phase of eumenorrheic women with premenstrual symptomatology. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol. 2006 Jan 1;27(3):131–9.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dr. Ambreen Asghar, Dr. Duaa Javed, Dr. Urooj Fatima, Dr. Khadija Irfan, Dr. Uroosa, Dr. Maheen Siddiqui (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Journal of Women and Child Health (JoWaCH) adheres to the CC BY 4.0 license, which is a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For comprehensive information, we kindly request that you refer to the full license legal code. JoWaCH employs a non-exclusive license agreement for the purpose of open-access publication. In the context of open access publishing, the authors maintain the copyright of their work while also granting the journal the rights to publish and distribute it, while retaining the primary academic use rights. This practice facilitates the optimal use and dissemination of the work, while also guaranteeing proper attribution to the original source. The handling of manuscript content shall be conducted with confidentiality, with the exception of cases involving review processes and investigations related to potential misconduct, plagiarism, and duplicate/redundant or overlapping publications, in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) COPE Guidelines.
JoWaCH is prohibited from disseminating content derived from previously published scientific work without obtaining proper authorization. Obtaining permission from the copyright holder, who may be either the author(s) or the publisher, is necessary in cases where the copyright holder is the publisher, for any work you want to use.
While it is acceptable to use a small amount of a work, obtaining permission from the copyright owners is necessary for a significant extraction.
The use of unmodified or little modified tables, graphs, and artworks (whether they are the user's own work previously published elsewhere or created by another copyright holder) necessitates obtaining permission.
Tables, graphs, charts, and artworks that have been fully redesigned and rebuilt, and include proper reference of the source, do not need obtaining permission.
JoWaCH facilitates unrestricted access to journal material for readers, necessitating the imposition of membership fees. The journal operates on a self-sustaining financial model and does not rely on support from other sources. The procedure of publishing is contingent only upon the financial resources of the publisher. The readers have unrestricted access to the information on the journal website.
