女性朋友們經常受到痛經的困擾。國外一項最新研究表明，針灸能夠明顯緩解痛經及與之相伴的頭痛等癥狀，還能改善經前期綜合征。

Researchers in Australia and New Zealand have found that acupuncture can significantly reduce the severity and duration of period pain.
澳大利亞和新西蘭的研究人員發現，針灸可以極大地減少痛經的嚴重程度和持續時間。

The study conducted by Australian and New Zealand researchers also found it relieved associated headaches and nausea.
這項由澳大利亞和新西蘭研究人員主持的研究還發現，針灸也能緩解與痛經相關的頭痛和惡心問題。

'Our pilot study found that using manual stimulation of the needles, rather than an electrical pulse, commonly used in many Chinese studies for period pain, resulted in reduced need for pain-relieving medication and improvement in secondary symptoms such as headaches and nausea,' said Dr Mike Armour.
邁克?阿穆爾博士說：“我們的初步研究發現，在中國許多的研究中，經常使用人工針灸，而不是電流理療來治療痛經。這會減少對止痛藥的需求，同時也會改善頭痛和惡心等伴隨癥狀，”

'The latter was unexpected and will be explored further in future, larger trials.'
“改善伴隨癥狀是我們之前沒有預料到的，在未來我們將會通過更大型的實驗進一步探索。”

Dr Armour is a postdoctoral research fellow at Western Sydney University's National Institute of Complementary Medicine.
阿穆爾博士是西悉尼大學國家輔助醫學研究所的博士后研究員。

It was a small pilot study of 74 women aged between 18 and 45 which found that more than half had at least a 50 percent reduction in the severity of their period pain after undergoing acupuncture treatment.
這只是一個涉及了74位年齡在18到45歲之間的女性的小型初步研究，結果發現超過一半的人接受針灸治療后，痛經的程度至少減少了一半。

The women underwent the treatment for three months, with the effects lasting for up to a year.
她們接受了為期3個月的針灸治療，但效果卻持續了1年。

Many of the women also reported less of a need to use painkillers to treat their period pain and an improvement in secondary symptoms.
許多女性還表示，她們沒那么需要止痛藥來治療痛經了，并且其他伴隨癥狀也得到改善。

This included headaches and nausea, according to the study published in the international journal PLOS One.
根據國際雜志《公共科學圖書館?綜合》發布的研究結果，伴隨癥狀包括了頭痛和惡心等。

Known in medical circles as primary dysmenorrhea, period pain is most common in women aged under 25.
痛經在醫學界又被稱為原發性痛經，常見于25歲以下的女性。

It is also the most common gynaecological problem among women generally, with four in five encountering it during their reproductive years.
它還是女性群體中最普遍的婦科問題。處于生育年齡段的女性當中，每5人就有4人會面臨這個問題。

The researchers from Western Sydney University and the University of Auckland also found that manual acupuncture, where thin needles are inserted at certain points on the body, provided more relief than electro-acupuncture, which involves a small electrical current passing through the needles.
西悉尼大學和奧克蘭大學的研究學者還發現，人工針灸，即將細針插入身體的特定部位的方法，比電針刺更具舒緩作用，而電針刺是指在針里傳輸微量的電流的方法。

During the study, the women kept a diary and underwent one of four types of manual or electro acupuncture treatments.
在這項研究中，女性們會寫日記記錄，并接受4種類型的人工針灸或電針灸療法中的1種治療。

Twelve treatments were carried out either once or three times a week over three menstrual cycles.
在3個月經周期內，她們會以每周1次或3次的頻率接受12次治療。

The women reported significant reductions in 'peak pain' during the first three days of their period and in "average pain" experienced over their entire period, with the effects sustained for 12 months.
這些女性們稱，最初3天內的“痛感峰值”和整個期間的“平均痛感”都得到了明顯的緩解，且針灸的效果持續了12個月。

Many also experienced improvements in PMS-related symptoms such as mood swings.
很多人還感覺到經前期綜合征相關的癥狀也得到了改善，比如心情的起伏。

'Treatment timing appears to play a small role, with high frequency of treatment providing greater improvements in health-related quality of life,' the researchers wrote.
研究人員寫道：“治療時機似乎沒起什么作用，但高頻率的治療會極大地改善與身體健康息息相關的生活質量。”

英文來源：每日郵報
翻譯：劉子豪（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
編審：yaning