The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aromatherapy
massage on dysmenorrhea. The study used a quasiexperimental design
with the subjects as their own control. Every participant applied
both aromatherapy massage with lavender oil and placebo massage
with odorless liquid petrolatum [soft paraffin]. The population comprised
438 midwifery and nursing students. The 150 students who had
declared that they had suffered from dysmenorrhea used a visual analog
scale to indicate their level of pain. Higher scores reflected
a greater severity of dysmenorrhea. Forty-four students volunteered to
participate in the study. When the lavender massage and the placebo
massage were compared, the visual analog scale score of the lavender
massage was found to decrease at a statistically significant rate. This
study showed that massage was effective in reducing dysmenorrhea.
In addition, this study showed that the effect of aromatherapy massage
on pain was higher than that of placebo massage.
2012 by the American Society for Pain Management Nursing