Does the combined oral contraceptive pill alter pain perception in women?
Item
- Title
- Does the combined oral contraceptive pill alter pain perception in women?
- Author(s)
- Butterwick, Amelia
- Abstract
- IntroductionThe combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) is used by millions of women globally. This study investigated the differences in pain perception between women on the COCP and those not taking any form of hormonal contraception. Study Design19 women participated in the study. Each woman was tested twice over a one month period – once at ovulation and once on the 1st day of menses. The 1st interossei of the non-dominant and the right-sided erector spinae of L5 were tested for pain pressure threshold (PPT) using an algometer. ResultsWomen taking the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) showed a lower tolerance to pain than those not taking hormonal medication with a statistical significance for the non-dominant hand (p= 0.028). The mean PPT of the non-dominant hand for the non-COCP group was 43.58N (+/- 15.22) at ovulation and 47.72N (+/- 16.35) on the first day of menses compared to a mean for the COCP group of 31.63N (+/- 10.32) at ovulation and 30.33N (+/- 7.64) on the first day of menses. ConclusionThe results show that the COCP has minimal effect on pain experience for women when compared with women not taking any form of contraceptive medication. Further research is needed on a larger scale to determine the effects of the COCP for a wider population.
- presented at
- British College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Date Accepted
- 2016
- Date Submitted
- 12.11.2018 18:55:03
- Type
- osteo_thesis
- Language
- English
- Number of pages
- 16
- Submitted by:
- 4457
- Pub-Identifier
- 16267
- Inst-Identifier
- 1076
- Keywords
- Combined oral contraceptive pill; Menstrual cycle; Pain perception; Pain perception men and women; Women and pain
- Recommended
- 1
- Item sets
- Thesis
Butterwick, Amelia, “Does the combined oral contraceptive pill alter pain perception in women?”, Osteopathic Research Web, accessed May 24, 2025, https://www.osteopathic-research.com/s/orw/item/2061