Survey study, 2018
Does regular aerobic exercise reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms?
Women who exercised regularly had significantly lower PMS symptom scores and fewer symptoms like water retention, negative mood, and poor concentration compared to sedentary women. However, this compares women with different exercise habits, not a controlled trial.
What they did
Cross-sectional comparison of 220 women: 100 who regularly performed aerobic exercise (walk-running) 3-5 days per week for 60 minutes per session for 4 months, and 120 sedentary women. They measured and compared PMS symptom scores between the two groups.
What they found
Premenstrual PMS scores were significantly higher in the non-exercising group. During the premenstrual phase, the non-exercising group had significantly higher scores for water retention, negative affect, impaired concentration, behavioral change, arousal, and control. No significant differences were found in menstrual frequency per year, though menstrual flow length differed.
What it means for you
Regular aerobic exercise appears to reduce the severity and frequency of PMS symptoms. However, this was a comparison of women who already differed in exercise habits, so we cannot be certain exercise itself causes the reduction rather than other differences between groups.
100
Women in exercising group
120
Women in sedentary group
3-5 days/week
Exercise frequency for 4 months
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of regular aerobic exercises on premenstrual syndrome in sedentary women
- Authors
- Güner Çiçek
- Journal
- Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity
- Year
- 2018
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 220
- What was tested
- Regular aerobic exercise. Walk-running 3-5 days per week, 60 minutes per session, for 4 months.
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.29359/bjhpa.10.2.04
Topics
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