Randomised trial, 2016
Does Pilates or vitamin E reduce PMS symptoms?
Yes. Both Pilates and vitamin E reduced mood and physical symptoms and their impact on daily life, with the two together improving PMS more than either alone.
What they did
40 non-athletic female university students with moderate to severe PMS were split into four groups: Pilates, Pilates plus vitamin E, vitamin E alone, or no treatment. The Pilates groups did workouts for 4 weeks at 3 sessions per week. All intervention groups took one vitamin E tablet daily. Symptoms were measured before and after using a PMS questionnaire.
What they found
In the Pilates group and vitamin E group, mood symptoms and physical symptoms reduced significantly (P=0.0001 for mood, P=0.002 for physical) compared to before treatment and compared to the control group. The impact of symptoms on daily life also reduced significantly (P=0.0001).
What it means for you
Pilates and vitamin E may help with PMS symptoms, especially mood and physical symptoms. The study was small and was done at one university in Iran, so results may differ in other countries or with different populations.
40
female students
4 weeks
duration of Pilates
3
sessions per week
About the study
- Original title
- Effects of Pilates and Vitamin E on Symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome
- Authors
- Fatemeh Omidali
- Journal
- Journal of Research Development in Nursing and Midwifery
- Year
- 2016
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- What was tested
- Pilates workouts for 4 weeks at 3 sessions per week and/or one vitamin E tablet daily
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.18869/acadpub.jgbfnm.13.1.1
Topics
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