Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Dysmenorrhea Caused by Endometriosis: A Review of Utilization and Mechanism

Table 1

General view of all therapeutic approaches.

Therapeutic approaches	Specifications	Efficacy	Precautions	Refs.
Herbal products	Appropriate TCM prescriptions are proposed according to TCM doctors’ judgment.	Alleviating dysmenorrhea.	Allergy to drugs or contraindications.	[16–66]
Acupuncture and moxibustion	Use the appropriate acupoints or moxa-moxibustion therapy in light of the disease status of the patient. Most acupuncture treatments are 30 min (needling and auricular point), while moxibustion treatments last 40–50 min.	Alleviating dysmenorrhea.	Be careful of fainting conditions.	[67–96]
CHM enema	Ask patients to take the left lateral decubitus position. Put the boiled TCM herbal liquid into a 20 mL syringe, and wait for the temperature to reach 38–40°C. With a disposable catheter connection, slowly push the TCM herbal liquid into the rectum. Tell patients to relax and to retain the TCM herbal liquid for at least 2 hours.	Alleviating dysmenorrhea.	Use caution in patients with intestinal lesions.	[97–111]