Exercise and PMS

Exercise is often recommended as a treatment for PMS, but there is no published study demonstrates its efficacy as the sole intervention. Timonen and Procope surveyed than 700 female college students and reported that premenstrual complaints were less frequent among those who participated in sports. Prior and Vigna compared the effects of exercise on premenstrual symptoms in sedentary women and runners. Increased exercise was associated with improvements in fluid and breast related symptoms, based on daily symptoms reports, as well as premenstrual dysphoria up to 6 months after initiation of an exercise program. No changes in control subjects were observed. In the strongest study design, Lemon evaluated the effect of aerobic training in 32 women with prospectively confirmed PMS. Women were randomly assigned to either a high-intensity aerobic training group or a low-intensity control group. Although the high-intensity aerobic group reported greater reductions, both groups exhibited significantly fewer symptoms as compared with baseline. Further controlled studies are needed to clarify whether exercise can alleviate or mitigate physiologic or psychological symptoms of PMS.

Source:
Debra A. Krummel, Penny M. Kris-Etherthon. Nutrition in Women's Health. Aspen Publishers, 1996.