--- title: Do Pilates exercises reduce PMS symptoms better than stretching? description: Yes. Women who did Pilates exercises for 12 weeks showed much better reductions in PMS symptoms than those who did stretching exercises. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effectiveness-of-pilates-exercises-versus-stretching-exercise-in-reducing-2025/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do Pilates exercises reduce PMS symptoms better than stretching? Survey study, 2025 # Do Pilates exercises reduce PMS symptoms better than stretching? Yes. Women who did Pilates exercises for 12 weeks showed much better reductions in PMS symptoms than those who did stretching exercises. Early or limited evidence 152 college girls with PMS symptoms. ## What they did Recruited 250 female college students. Of these, 152 with PMS symptoms were divided equally into two groups: 76 did Pilates exercises and 76 did stretching exercises. Both groups exercised 3 times per week for 12 weeks. Symptoms were measured before and after using a questionnaire and pain scale. ## What they found Both groups showed clear improvements in PMS symptoms. The Pilates group did much better than the stretching group in reducing symptoms. ## What it means for you Pilates may be more helpful than stretching for PMS. If you want to try exercise for PMS, Pilates might work better. The main limitation is that this is not a large study, and there was no control group that did nothing, so we cannot say how much better Pilates is than rest or other options. 152 Women with PMS 76 Per group 12 weeks Duration ## About the study Original title Effectiveness of Pilates Exercises Versus Stretching Exercise in Reducing Premenstrual Syndrome among College Girls Authors Harina, Senthil Kumar S, Karthika Ramalingam Journal Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - An International Journal Year 2025 Study design Survey study Participants 76 What was tested Pilates exercises versus stretching exercises, 3 times per week for 12 weeks. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.37506/0j4vdf46](https://doi.org/10.37506/0j4vdf46) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) 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 Lab study, 2026 Do core stability exercises help women with PMDD? Non-randomised trial, 2026 Does video-guided digital menstrual exercise reduce PMS and period pain in adolescent girls? Review, 2024 Does yoga help reduce period pain and premenstrual symptoms? Randomised trial, 2026 Is Pilates exercise more effective than stretching for reducing PMS symptoms? Cohort study, 2026 What menstrual and premenstrual problems do girls with intellectual disability experience? Non-randomised trial, 2026 Can yoga reduce PMS pain in teenage girls? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗