An interventional study of Moderate Aerobic Exercise in Premenstrual Syndrome, Menstrual Cycle and Menstrual Distress (Dysmenorrhea), sponsored by University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 40 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-07-24.
Sponsored by University of Colorado, Colorado Springs · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the impact of moderate aerobic exercise on menstrual symptom management in sedentary women both using and not using hormonal contraceptives. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Is there a reduction in physical and/or psychological menstrual cycle related symptom burden with participation in moderate aerobic exercise for sedentary women using and not using hormonal contraceptives?
Is there a difference in physical and/or psychological menstrual cycle related symptom burden between hormonal contraceptive and non-hormonal contraceptive users?
Is a moderate aerobic exercise intervention more effective in reducing physical and/or psychological menstrual related symptom burden for sedentary women using or not using hormonal contraceptives?
Participants will:
177 studies on the registry are indexed under Premenstrual Syndrome; 32 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 35 is below the median of 70 across 154 interventional studies indexed under Premenstrual Syndrome.
Browse Premenstrual Syndrome studies →University of Colorado, Colorado Springs is the lead sponsor of 18 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Women who report regular menstrual periods every 21-35 days and have not used hormonal or non-hormonal (i.e., intrauterine device) contraceptives in the past 6 months.
Behavioral: Moderate Aerobic Exercise
Women who are taking a combined oral contraceptive (i.e., those that contain a form of progesterone and estrogen) for at least the past 6 months.
Behavioral: Moderate Aerobic Exercise
Participants will complete moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 30 minutes per session, progressing from three to five days per week to meet the minimum recommended aerobic physical activity guideline of 150 minutes per week set by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) over two menstrual cycles. Moderate intensity is defined as maintaining a heart rate within 40-59% heart rate reserve and a rate of perceived exertion of 11-14 "light to somewhat hard" on the Borg 6-20 scale.
Change from baseline in Menstrual Symptom Index (MSi) scores
The MSi asks participants to report the intensity they are experiencing 18 menstrual related symptoms on a scale ranging from 0 = "do not feel at all" to 3 = "intense." A score of 0 indicates no symptom burden and 54 the maximum symptom burden.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, and 2 months
Change from baseline in Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) - Symptoms
The PSST has participants report the intensity which they experience 14 premenstrual symptoms on a scale ranging from 0 = "not at all" to 3 = "intense". A score of 0 reflects no premenstrual symptom burden and a score of 42 indicates maximal premenstrual symptom burden.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, 2 month
Change from baseline in Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST) - Quality of Life
The PSST asks participants to report the severity by which premenstrual symptoms affect 4 functional aspects of life related to work, relationships with coworkers and family, and home responsibilities on a scale ranging from 0 = "not at all" to 3 = "severe". A score of 0 indicates no interference and 12 maximal interference.
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, 2 months
Urinary luteinizing hormone (LH)
mIU/mL
Time frame: Baseline, month 1, month 2
Urinary pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG)
ug/mL
Time frame: Baseline, 1 month, 2 months
Urinary estrone-3-glucuronide (E3G)
ng/mL
Time frame: Baseline, month 1, month 2
Plan to share: No
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University of Colorado, Colorado Springs