--- title: Does exercise reduce premenstrual symptoms? | Niyora description: Yes. Women who started running or trained for a marathon had fewer premenstrual symptoms after 6 months. Women who did not exercise had no change. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/conditioning-exercise-decreases-premenstrual-symptoms-a-prospective-controlled-6-1987/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does exercise reduce premenstrual symptoms? Non-randomised trial, 1987 # Does exercise reduce premenstrual symptoms? Yes. Women who started running or trained for a marathon had fewer premenstrual symptoms after 6 months. Women who did not exercise had no change. Early or limited evidence 21 healthy women: 8 sedentary, 7 marathon trainers, 6 normally active ## What they did 21 women participated over 6 months. Eight sedentary women began running, seven runners trained for a marathon, and six normally active women kept their usual activity. Each month they reported premenstrual symptoms using questionnaires or daily diaries. Basal body temperature, weight, and hormone levels were also monitored. ## What they found Sedentary women increased running from zero to an average of 76 km per cycle. They had decreases in breast symptoms, fluid retention, and personal stress. Marathon trainers had decreases in fluid retention and depression, and anxiety tended to decrease. Non-exercising women had no symptom changes. No group showed changes in hormone levels, menstrual cycle length, or weight. ## What it means for you Exercise appears to reduce premenstrual symptoms through an unknown mechanism since hormones and weight did not change. The study is very small with unequal groups and no random assignment, so more research is needed. 76 km per cycle average running distance reached by sedentary women 6 months duration of exercise training 21 total women studied ## About the study Original title Conditioning exercise decreases premenstrual symptoms: a prospective, controlled 6-month trial Authors Prior JC, Vigna Y, Sciarretta D et al. Journal Fertility and sterility Year 1987 Study design Non-randomised trial What was tested 6 months of conditioning exercise Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0015-0282(16)59045-1](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0015-0282(16)59045-1) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Cohort study, 2026 Do sleep, exercise, and diet quality affect period pain, heavy bleeding, and PMS in midlife? Randomised trial, 2026 Does yoga or Pilates help reduce PMS symptoms? Randomised trial, 2026 Does aerobic or resistance exercise reduce anxiety in women with PMS? Systematic review, 2026 Do mindfulness and relaxation techniques help with PMS symptoms? Randomised trial, 2026 Does yoga reduce PMS symptoms? Randomised trial, 2025 Does caloric restriction and aerobic exercise improve PMS symptoms in obese women? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗