Non-randomised trial, 2025
Does progressive muscle relaxation reduce PMS symptoms in teenage girls?
Yes. Teenage girls in the treatment group showed significantly lower PMS scores after 20 days of daily relaxation exercises than girls in the control group.
What they did
Quasi-experimental study with 60 teenage girls aged 13 to 18 (30 in treatment group, 30 in control group). The treatment group performed 10-minute progressive muscle relaxation exercises daily for 20 days starting on the 6th day after their menstrual cycle began.
What they found
The treatment group had an average PMS score of 12.3 compared to 21.2 in the control group. This difference was statistically significant. The authors concluded that progressive muscle relaxation is a safe, low-cost method to reduce PMS.
What it means for you
Progressive muscle relaxation appears to help teenage girls with PMS without medication or side effects. However, this study had only 60 participants from one location in India, did not randomly assign girls to groups, and was limited to a single cycle, so results may not apply to all teenagers.
60
teenage girls in study
12.3 vs 21.2
average PMS scores (treatment vs control)
20 days
duration of intervention
About the study
- Original title
- The effectiveness of Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation technique on pre-menstrual syndrome among adolescent girls at selected schools, Krishnagiri
- Authors
- M Dhanam
- Journal
- International Journal of Advance Research in Nursing
- Year
- 2025
- Study design
- Non-randomised trial
- What was tested
- 10-minute progressive muscle relaxation exercises daily for 20 days starting on day 6 of menstrual cycle
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.33545/nursing.2025.v8.i2.b.532
Topics
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