Randomised trial, 2004
Does Qi-therapy help PMS symptoms?
Yes. Qi-therapy significantly reduced pain and water retention. It also had short-term effects on pain, depression, and anxiety.
What they did
Randomized controlled trial where 46 college women were assigned to Qi-therapy (23 women) or a waiting list control (23 women). The Qi-therapy group received 9 sessions over 2 menstrual cycles. One woman from the control group dropped out.
What they found
Qi-therapy had significant effects on pain and water retention. There were also significant short-term effects on pain, mental depression, and anxiety.
What it means for you
Qi-therapy might be useful for women with PMS, particularly for pain and water retention. The study was small and used a waiting list instead of a placebo control, which makes it harder to know how much of the benefit comes from the treatment itself versus other factors like attention and expectation.
46
women studied
9
Qi-therapy sessions
2
menstrual cycles of treatment
About the study
- Original title
- Effects of Qi-therapy on premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Jang HS, Lee MS, Kim MJ et al.
- Journal
- The International journal of neuroscience
- Year
- 2004
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 23
- What was tested
- Qi-therapy delivered in 9 sessions over 2 menstrual cycles
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/00207450490450163
Topics
Related studies
Randomised trial, 2026
Does Kundalini Reiki help reduce PMS symptoms and improve quality of life?
Cohort study, 2025
Do women with PMS or PMDD report lower quality of life than women without these conditions?
Cohort study, 2025
How common is PMS in Chinese teenage girls, and what factors are linked to it?
Survey study, 2026
Are menstrual characteristics linked to depression and anxiety in teenage girls?
Randomised trial, 2026
Does education about PMS symptoms help reduce pain and stress?
Study, 2026
What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder?