---
title: What treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome? | Niyora
description: Many treatments reduce PMS. Most helpful were nutrition and exercise, followed by medication, stretching, massage, acupuncture, and cognitive-behavioral thera
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/therapeutic-interventions-in-premenstrual-syndrome-2018/
---

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- What treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome?

Study, 2018

# What treatments work best for premenstrual syndrome?

Many treatments reduce PMS. Most helpful were nutrition and exercise, followed by medication, stretching, massage, acupuncture, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cost and access are major barriers.

 Moderate study design

Review of 52 studies from multiple countries

## What they did

Reviewed medical databases (Iran medex, SID, Magiran, Pubmed, Elsevier, Scopus) from January 2017 to March 2018 for studies on PMS treatment. Identified and reviewed 52 studies of different interventions.

## What they found

Eight types of interventions were identified. Ranked by effectiveness: nutrition, exercise and stretching, drugs, training, massage, acupuncture, cognitive-behavioral approaches, and management strategies. All reduced PMS symptoms. Main barriers to treatment were high cost and difficulty accessing interventions.

## What it means for you

Many different approaches work for PMS, from diet and exercise to medication to talking with a therapist. Women should have options to find what works for them. Main limits are that this reviewed studies from one region during a specific time period, and study quality varied.

52

studies reviewed

8

types of interventions studied

2017-2018

time period searched

## About the study

Original title Therapeutic Interventions in Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Fatemeh Karami, Parand Abdolmajid, Narges Kalvandi et al. Journal Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology Year 2018 Study design Study What was tested Multiple interventions tested (nutrition, exercise, medication, massage, acupuncture, cognitive-behavioral therapy, management strategies) Read the paper [doi.org/10.5958/0973-9130.2018.00162.7](https://doi.org/10.5958/0973-9130.2018.00162.7)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Cognitive behavioral therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-cbt/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Acupuncture and acupressure](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-acupuncture/)[Economic burden](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-economic-burden/)

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.

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