---
title: Do complementary or alternative therapies work for premenstrual syndrome?
description: No strong evidence supports any complementary or alternative therapy for PMS. Twenty-seven trials studied various treatments, but most had methodological prob
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/complementary-alternative-therapies-for-premenstrual-syndrome-a-systematic-2001/
---

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- Do complementary or alternative therapies work for premenstrual syndrome?

Systematic review, 2001

# Do complementary or alternative therapies work for premenstrual syndrome?

No strong evidence supports any complementary or alternative therapy for PMS. Twenty-seven trials studied various treatments, but most had methodological problems and positive findings were not compelling.

 Moderate study design

Women with premenstrual syndrome in randomized controlled trials

## What they did

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials of complementary or alternative therapies for PMS. Searched seven databases and checked reference lists. Included 27 trials published in peer-reviewed journals.

## What they found

Twenty-seven trials studied herbal medicine (7 trials), homeopathy (1), dietary supplements (13), relaxation (1), massage (1), reflexology (1), chiropractic (1), and biofeedback (2). Despite some positive findings, evidence was not compelling. Most trials suffered from methodological limitations.

## What it means for you

These alternative treatments may help some women, but the research quality was poor. No therapy can be recommended based on current evidence. Better-designed and larger studies are needed.

27

Randomized controlled trials reviewed

13

Trials testing dietary supplements

7

Trials testing herbal medicine

## About the study

Original title Complementary/alternative therapies for premenstrual syndrome: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials Authors Stevinson C, Ernst E Journal American journal of obstetrics and gynecology Year 2001 Study design Systematic review What was tested Herbal medicine, homeopathy, dietary supplements, relaxation, massage, reflexology, chiropractic, biofeedback Read the paper [doi.org/10.1067/mob.2001.113643](https://doi.org/10.1067/mob.2001.113643)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Diet and nutrition](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-diet/)[Other herbal medicine](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-herbal-other/)

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What herbs and dietary supplements have evidence for treating premenstrual syndrome?

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