Exercise for your Cycles and Drive away PMS

Millions of women worldwide suffer with pre-menstrual syndrome. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a disruptive set of symptoms that regularly occur in the 1-2 weeks before the start of each menstrual period. Some women find their symptoms physically debilitating whilst others find their mental health is significantly affected. Many women require hormonal and/or non hormonal treatment to help them during this time.

However one single entity has been shown to help with PMS in countless women, irrespective of the severity or type of symptoms they might be experiencing

Exercise in ANY form for as long as you can tolerate has been shown to reduce the severity and duration of PMS. The best type of exercise however is aerobic exercise because this works in multiple ways to reduce the severity of your symptoms. It helps increase the amount of red blood cells which helps with fatigue and concentration. It also helps regulate the hormonal changes which improves digestive symptoms, insomnia as well as fluctuating mood swings which are a very common side effect of labile hormone levels. Aerobic Exercise includes jogging, running, pilates, swimming, dancing, boxing and many more. Just remember, every little helps!

Dr Natasha Shah - Consultant Family Medicine