Baduanjin exercise improved premenstrual syndrome symptoms in Macau women.
To investigate the effect of Baduanjin, a traditional Chinese medical exercise, on improving premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms in women. Forty reproductive age women with PMS in Macau practiced standardized Baduanjin exercise for three menstrual cycles. A questionnaire, the daily record of severity of problems (DRSP), was used to measure symptom severity. DRSP was filled out every day starting from the last cycle before exercise (i.e., the first menstrual cycle) to the third cycle after exercise initiation (i.e., the fourth menstrual cycle). The total scores and the scores of each item during the 5 premenstrual days and follicular phase (5-9 postmenstrual days) were calculated. After exercise, the total DRSP scores during the 5 premenstrual days and differences in the total DRSP scores between the 5 premenstrual days and the follicular phase were both significantly reduced. Of note, the physical symptom total scores in the 5 premenstrual days and the differences between its total score in the 5 premenstrual days and in the follicular phase were both significantly reduced. The differences between the total scores of depressed mood, anxious mood, loss of interest, and reduction in social activity during the 5 premenstrual days and the follicular phase were also reduced. Baduanjin exercise was able to improve the mental and especially the physical symptoms of PMS.