A Narrative Literature Review of the Western Medicine and TCM Approaches to Dysmenorrhea

痛經是一種常見的婦科疾病，也是青春期少女以及年輕婦女缺課或請假常見原因。這也同時造成這些婦女的生活品質及活動力降低。目前，非類固醇消炎藥是西藥中治療痛經的第一線藥物。口服避孕藥則是另一種選擇。然而，在最近的一些臨床研究報告中，中醫療法，包括針灸，在痛經的治療上，也都取得不錯的療效。在這篇文章中，將會從中西醫的觀點，介紹痛經的病因病機，以及診斷治療。同時，也對目前在痛經的治療機轉的基礎研究以及其療效的臨床研究，作詳細的回顧。Dysmenorrhea is a both common gynecological disorder and one of main excuse for the absence from school or work among adolescent girls and young women. In additions, the quality of life and activity levels are also compromised among dysmenorrheal girls and women. At present, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the choice of initial treatment in conventional western medicine, while oral contraceptive drugs are the other option. However, recent clinical studies have shown that a promising treatment outcome could be expected by employing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture. In this article, approaches to the diagnosis and the treatment of dysmenorrhea based on the viewpoints either from western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine were introduced. Moreover, a detailed narrative review of the basic science and clinical research on the mechanism, efficacy and outcome for the treatment of dysmenorrhea was provided.