Study, 2019
Which works better for PMS: aerobic exercise or yoga?
Both aerobic exercise and yoga significantly reduced PMS symptoms and pain. Yoga was more effective at reducing overall PMS symptoms, but both were equally effective at reducing pain.
What they did
Researchers studied 72 women with PMS (mean age 28 years), divided into two groups. One group did aerobic exercise 40 minutes, 3 times per week for 1 month. The other group did yoga movements for 40 minutes, 3 times per week for 1 month. Pain and PMS symptoms were measured before, after 15 days, and after 1 month.
What they found
Both aerobic exercise and yoga significantly reduced pain intensity and PMS symptoms. Yoga was significantly more effective at reducing overall PMS symptoms compared to aerobic exercise. However, there was no clear difference between aerobic exercise and yoga for reducing pain alone.
What it means for you
This shows that both aerobic exercise and yoga can help reduce PMS symptoms and pain. For overall PMS symptom relief, yoga was slightly more effective. For pain relief specifically, both are equally effective. The main limitation is that the treatment only lasted 1 month, so we do not know how long the benefits last. The sample was also relatively small.
72
women with PMS in study
28 years
average age
40 min, 3x/week
duration of each session
About the study
- Original title
- To compare the effects of aerobic exercise and yoga on Premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Vaghela N, Mishra D, Sheth M et al.
- Journal
- Journal of education and health promotion
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 72
- What was tested
- Aerobic exercise (40 minutes, 3 times per week for 1 month) versus yoga (40 minutes, 3 times per week for 1 month)
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_50_19
Topics
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