---
title: Does relaxation therapy actually reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms?
description: Yes. A review of 35 studies found that relaxation-based therapies, including yoga, massage, and specific relaxation techniques, all significantly reduced PMS
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/impact-of-relaxation-therapy-on-premenstrual-symptoms-a-systematic-review-2022/
---

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- Does relaxation therapy actually reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms?

Systematic review, 2022

# Does relaxation therapy actually reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms?

Yes. A review of 35 studies found that relaxation-based therapies, including yoga, massage, and specific relaxation techniques, all significantly reduced PMS symptoms.

 Moderate study design

Women with PMS, drawn from 35 studies in clinical and community settings.

## What they did

Researchers searched five major databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, Scopus, Web of Science) for studies on relaxation therapy for PMS. Out of 71 relevant articles found, 35 studies passed a quality check and were included in this systematic review.

## What they found

All 35 studies reported that the relaxation therapies tested, namely Laura Mitchell technique, Jacobson's method, Benson's method, unnamed relaxation, yoga, aerobic exercise, and massage, significantly decreased PMS symptoms.

## What it means for you

A range of relaxation-based approaches, from yoga to massage, appear to help with PMS symptoms across many studies, which is encouraging, but the abstract does not give exact improvement percentages or details on each underlying study's size, length, or quality, so the strength of the effect is not fully clear.

71

relevant articles initially found

35

studies included in the review

7

types of relaxation therapy studied

## About the study

Original title Impact of relaxation therapy on premenstrual symptoms: A systematic review Authors Jose A, Nayak S, Rajesh A et al. Journal Journal of education and health promotion Year 2022 Study design Systematic review What was tested Seven types of relaxation therapy: Laura Mitchell, Jacobson, Benson, unnamed relaxation, yoga, aerobic exercise, and massage. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_586_22](https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_586_22)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/)

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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