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.
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
Topics
Related studies
Review, 2001
What are PMS and PMDD, and how are they treated?
Survey study, 2025
How are PMS and PMDD diagnosed and treated?
Review, 2023
Can herbs and supplements help with PMS symptoms?
Cohort study, 2022
What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated?
Non-randomised trial, 2020
What treatments help premenstrual syndrome?
Review, 2016
How common are PMS and PMDD, and what are the best treatments?