Review, 2005
How does Traditional Chinese Medicine view and treat premenstrual syndrome?
Traditional Chinese Medicine has used herbal medicines to treat PMS for centuries, but very few of these treatments have been rigorously studied using modern research methods.
What they did
Literature review comparing how Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western biomedicine understand and treat PMS. The authors examined similarities and differences between the two approaches to understand PMS causes and possible treatments.
What they found
PMS is characterized by cyclical physical and mood symptoms in the last few days of each menstrual cycle. Western medicine has not yet identified the exact cause and biology of PMS. Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long history of treating premenstrual and menstrual symptoms with herbal medicines. However, very few studies on TCM approaches to PMS have used rigorous research methods.
What it means for you
Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a different framework for understanding and treating PMS than Western medicine, with accumulated experience using herbal treatments. Most TCM treatments for PMS lack scientific evidence from rigorous studies. This review highlights the need for better research to evaluate whether TCM approaches actually work.
About the study
- Original title
- Understanding premenstrual syndrome from a Chinese medicine perspective
- Authors
- Chou PB, Morse CA
- Journal
- Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.)
- Year
- 2005
- Study design
- Review
- What was tested
- None (literature review)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1089/acm.2005.11.355
Topics
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