Randomised trial, 2026
Do pelvic floor exercises combined with Pilates help PMS symptoms?
Both Pilates alone and Pilates plus pelvic floor exercises significantly improved PMS, pain, sleep quality, and overall quality of life. The combination group showed larger improvements, though the difference was not statistically significant, and the study included only 30 women.
What they did
30 women with PMS (PMSS scores ≥111) randomly assigned to either Pilates only (n=15) or Pilates plus pelvic floor exercises (n=15). Both groups attended supervised 50-minute sessions twice weekly for 8 weeks. Researchers measured PMS severity, pain, sleep quality, and quality of life before and after.
What they found
Both Pilates alone and Pilates plus pelvic floor exercises significantly improved PMS symptoms, pain intensity, sleep quality, and quality of life (p<0.05). The Pilates plus pelvic floor group demonstrated greater improvements in PMS severity and larger benefits for sleep and quality of life compared to Pilates alone. The Pilates-only group also showed meaningful progress. Overall differences between groups did not reach statistical significance.
What it means for you
Both Pilates and pelvic floor exercises appear to help with PMS. Adding pelvic floor exercises to Pilates may offer additional benefit for sleep and overall wellness, though the improvement was not statistically significantly different from Pilates alone. The study was small (30 women total), limiting how much we can generalize to all women with PMS.
30
women studied
50 minutes
session duration
8 weeks
program length
About the study
- Original title
- The Effects of Pelvic Floor Exercises Applied in Addition to Pilates on Premenstrual Symptoms, Pain, Sleep, and Quality of Life in Individuals with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)
- Authors
- Kubra Uslu, Osman Çoban
- Journal
- Medical Records
- Year
- 2026
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 30
- What was tested
- Pilates with or without pelvic floor exercises, twice weekly for 8 weeks (50-minute sessions)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.37990/medr.1818745
Topics
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