Pelvic Floor Muscle Activity in Primary Dysmenorrhea: Literature Review

Background: Primary Dysmenorrhea (PD) remains a significant health concern, particularly among adolescent fe-males, and is known to adversely affect daily activities and quality of life. Understanding the role of pelvic floor muscle (PFM) activity in PD could provide insight into better manage-ment strategies. Aim of Study: This narrative review aims to investigate the role of pelvic floor muscle (PFM) activity in PD, specifically focusing on how PFM dysfunction contributes to menstrual pain. Material and Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted of studies published up to 2024. The searches were conducted across PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “Primary Dys-menorrhea”, “Pelvic Floor Muscle” and “Female”. Reviewed literature was descriptively analyzed and summarized. Results: The literature search identified six studies inves-tigating the link between PD and PFM activity, including four observational cross-sectional studies and one experimental study. All studies demonstrate a connection between PD and PFM activity. Three studies highlight the presence of myofas-cial pain syndrome in women with PD, with a higher preva-lence of active myofascial trigger points in the PFM. One study directly correlates PFM dysfunction with PD, while another emphasizes the value of physiotherapy, particularly manual therapy combined with active pelvic floor exercises, in im-proving PD symptoms. The final study found no association between the presence of PD and changes in the pelvic floor pain pressure threshold. Collectively, these findings underscore the clinical significance of the PD-PFM relationship. Conclusion: The review demonstrates a strong connection between PD and PFM but highlights a scientific gap in under-standing how these muscles respond to different severity of PD.