Association Between Physical Activity Level and Primary Dysmenorrhea Pain Intensity: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Primary dysmenorrhea is a common menstrual disorder among young women and may negatively affect daily activities, academic performance, and quality of life. Physical activity has been proposed as a potential non-pharmacological approach to reduce menstrual pain; however, evidence among female university students in Indonesia remains limited.
Objective: This study aimed to analyze the association between physical activity level and primary dysmenorrhea pain intensity among female university students.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 40 female physiotherapy students aged 19–25 years. Physical activity level was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form (IPAQ-SF), while pain intensity of primary dysmenorrhea was measured using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Descriptive statistics were performed, followed by the Shapiro–Wilk test for normality. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the association between physical activity level and pain intensity, with a significance level set at p < 0.05.
Results: The mean total physical activity score was 3383.05 MET-minutes/week, while the mean dysmenorrhea pain intensity score was 4.33 on the NRS, indicating moderate pain. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant negative association between physical activity level and primary dysmenorrhea pain intensity (r = −0.478; p = 0.002), indicating that higher physical activity levels were associated with lower pain intensity.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates a significant negative association between physical activity level and primary dysmenorrhea pain intensity among female university students. These findings suggest that maintaining an adequate level of physical activity may have potential benefits in the non-pharmacological management of primary dysmenorrhea.