---
title: Does Qi therapy reduce PMS symptoms? | Niyora
description: Yes. Women who received Qi therapy had significant reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety compared to controls, though this was a small pilot study.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/an-exploratory-pilot-study-of-qi-therapy-external-qi-healing-on-symptoms-of-2003/
---

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- Does Qi therapy reduce PMS symptoms?

Randomised trial, 2003

# Does Qi therapy reduce PMS symptoms?

Yes. Women who received Qi therapy had significant reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety compared to controls, though this was a small pilot study.

 Early or limited evidence

46 college women

## What they did

A randomized trial of 46 college women. 23 received Qi therapy (a healing technique) and 23 were controls. The Qi therapy group received 12 minutes of Qi therapy 5 times: on days 7, 4, and 1 before menstruation, and on days 7 and 14 after menstruation. The control group spent the same time in a relaxation procedure. Pain, depression, and anxiety were measured using a standard scale.

## What they found

There were significant reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety in the Qi therapy group compared with control.

## What it means for you

Qi therapy may help reduce pain, depression, and anxiety in PMS. This is a small exploratory study, and the control group also received a treatment (relaxation), so we cannot tell if Qi therapy is better than general relaxation. We also do not know how long benefits last.

46

college women studied

23

women who received Qi therapy

12 minutes

duration per session

## About the study

Original title An exploratory pilot study of Qi-therapy (External Qi Healing) on symptoms of premenstrual syndrome Authors Hye-Sook Lee Jang Journal Oriental Pharmacy and Experimental Medicine Year 2003 Study design Randomised trial Participants 23 What was tested Qi therapy 12 minutes per session, 5 sessions around menstruation Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.3742/opem.2003.3.4.212](https://doi.org/10.3742/opem.2003.3.4.212)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)

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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