---
title: What traditional and complementary medicine practices do women with PMS use?
description: Most women with PMS use heat treatments (hot applications to the abdomen and hot showers) and many also walk, do yoga, or get massage. Some reported benefits
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/traditional-and-complementary-medicine-practices-used-by-women-with-premenstrual-2021/
---

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- What traditional and complementary medicine practices do women with PMS use?

Survey study, 2021

# What traditional and complementary medicine practices do women with PMS use?

Most women with PMS use heat treatments (hot applications to the abdomen and hot showers) and many also walk, do yoga, or get massage. Some reported benefits from fennel tea and music, but without a control group we cannot confirm these practices work.

 Early or limited evidence

357 women visiting a gynecology clinic in Turkey

## What they did

Descriptive cross-sectional study at a university gynecology clinic in Turkey. 357 women who came for gynecology care completed a questionnaire about PMS symptoms and which traditional or complementary medicine practices they used.

## What they found

82.9% of the women had PMS. Of those with PMS, 83.8% used traditional or complementary medicine. Most common practices were hot application to the abdomen (90.7%), hot showers (85.1%), fennel tea (26.2%), walking (23.8%), massage (21.8%), yoga (11.7%), and music (10.5%). Of women who used music, 80% reported benefits. Of women who drank fennel tea, 60% reported benefits.

## What it means for you

Heat is the most popular home remedy for PMS among these women. Some reported benefits from music and fennel tea, but without a control group it is unclear whether these practices truly help or if reported benefits are from placebo effect. This is from one clinic in Turkey.

82.9%

of women had PMS

90.7%

used hot application to abdomen

83.8%

of women with PMS used complementary medicine

## About the study

Original title Traditional and Complementary Medicine Practices Used by Women with Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Hanife UÇAK, Filiz SÜZER ÖZKAN Journal Konuralp Tıp Dergisi Year 2021 Study design Survey study Participants 357 What was tested Observation of traditional and complementary medicine use Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.18521/ktd.778758](https://doi.org/10.18521/ktd.778758)

## Topics

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

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## Related studies

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Does a combination of exercise, ginger milk, and massage help premenstrual syndrome?

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What treatments help premenstrual syndrome?

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Do women with PMS or period pain use more complementary therapies like vitamins or yoga over time?

Randomised trial, 2017

Do aerobic exercise and curcumin help premenstrual syndrome symptoms and hormone levels?

Cohort study, 2016

How many Australian women have PMS and do they use complementary medicine?

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