The effect of yoga on women’s premenstrual syndrome: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Objectives: Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) show emotional, physical and behavioral symptoms regularly every month. Mild physiological symptoms of PMS appear in 95% of women at their reproductive age. We hypothesized to evaluate the effect of yoga exercise on PMS. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted from April to October of 2015. Eligible women for inclusion were selected conveniently from women that had randomly referred to selected private obstetrics and gynecology clinics in Tabriz, Iran. Thereafter, 62 subjects were selected for the study. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups: 31 subjects for yoga and 31 subjects for control groups with blocks 4 and 6. The yoga group performed yoga for 10 weeks in 3 sessions with each session of 60 minutes duration. Subjects of control group did not do any yoga. Subjects completed the Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) questionnaire for evaluation of the effect of yoga exercise on emotional, behavioral, physical symptoms and quality of life of subjects with PMS before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed by covariance. Results: The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of emotional, physical, behavioral symptoms and impact of yoga exercise on quality of life in yoga were 26.28 ± 16.54, 32.69 ± 20.81, 10.90 ± 14.10, 22.8 ± 14.56, and in the control group were 54.91 ± 21.31, 72.01 ± 22.24, 44.05 ± 22.32, 54.00 ± 20.33, respectively (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Results highlight that yoga significantly relieves the PMS symptoms and can be prescribed for treatment of PMS.