Non-randomised trial, 2013

Does ear acupressure therapy help PMS symptoms?

The study found that women who received ear acupressure therapy had lower symptom scores than women who did not. However, the study was small and not randomized, so we cannot be certain the therapy itself caused the improvement.

Early or limited evidence 27 female college students

What they did

Quasi-experimental (nonrandomized) study. 27 female college students were divided into experimental group (13) and control group (14). Data was collected over 3 months. The experimental group received ear acupressure therapy 3 times over 60 days. The control group received no treatment. Symptoms were measured using a 0-10 scale (Keele's Visual Analogue Scale).

What they found

Before treatment, symptom scores were 7.3 (experimental group) and 7.46 (control group). After ear acupressure therapy, the experimental group scored 3.36 while the control group scored 7.17. So the experimental group improved from 7.3 to 3.36, while the control group remained at 7.17.

What it means for you

Ear acupressure therapy may help reduce PMS symptoms. However, this was a small, nonrandomized study without blinding, so the improvement could be due to placebo effect or bias rather than the therapy itself. The findings should be confirmed in larger, properly randomized studies.

College students studied

7.3

Experimental group symptom score before therapy

3.36

Experimental group symptom score after therapy

About the study

Original title: The Ear Acupressure Therapy on Premenstrual Syndrome and Dysmenorrhea on Female college Students
Authors: Hye-Myoung Choung, Ju-Seung Song
Journal: Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
Year: 2013
Study design: Non-randomised trial
Participants: 27
What was tested: Ear acupressure therapy, 3 times over 60 days
Open access: Yes
Read the paper: doi.org/10.9708/jksci.2013.18.5.087

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Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)Dysmenorrhea and period pain Acupuncture and acupressure Students and academic performance

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