Dysmenorrhea, originated by a difficult menstrual flow, is a source of gynecological chronic pelvic pain in the lower abdomen or lumbar region, which can last the entire menstrual period and cause dysfunctions in the pelvic floor (PF). Despite the high prevalence of PF dysfunctions in the female population, women have limited knowledge about their perception and, consequently, about the health of this region.

To evaluate the effect of dysmenorrhea on the level of self-perception of the pelvic floor in young nulliparous women.

A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of nulliparous women. Women aged 18-30 years were selected, who had had their first sexual intercourse and never got pregnant. Participants were assessed for the same examiner using the socio-clinical questionnaire, visual analogue pain scale (VAS) and the pelvic floor self-perception questionnaire (Domains: Gynecological consultation; Consciousness of the genito-urinary tract; Social activity; Habits of life; Self-perception; Sexual activity; Female anatomical knowledge). In the data analysis were calculated, according to the distribution of normality of the sample, the means and standard deviation of the variables and compared the groups with and without dysmenorrhea as a function of self-perceived PF with the t test for independent samples. Data were analyzed using the Statistic Program for Social Science (version 23) considering the significance level of 5%.

Participated in this study 69 young adult nulliparous women with a mean age of 21.86 ± 3.16 years, mean schooling of 13.62 ±4.72 and 82.6% were attending higher education in health courses. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 65.21% (n=45) and most had regular menstrual flow. The level of pain of dysmenorrhea was low presenting average in VAS of 3.59 ±3.16 points. By the analysis of the domains and total score of the scale of self-perception of the PA it was verified that the majority of the sample presented a moderate level of perception. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups with and without dysmenorrhea in relation to the perception of PFM, however the group with dysmenorrhea had lower values. There was no correlation between the presence of dysmenorrhea and the domains of self-perception of PF.

Dysmenorrhea is prevalent among young nulliparous women and did not interfere with the perception of PF.

In scientific terms, it is worrisome to recognize that women who attend health courses have only a moderate level of perception of PF but also that although there was no statistical significance, if the sample was increased probably the symptom dysmenorrhea can interfere in functional terms of PF and alter their self-perception. In clinical terms, this study supports the importance of considering the perception of women in relation to their PF and can collaborate in therapeutic clinical practice.