The Tapping Evidence Base
Other Physical Conditions

Does emotional freedom techniques affect premenstrual syndrome? A randomized controlled study

Özşahin, Z., Güven Santur, S., Karakayalı Ay, Ç., Aksoy Derya, Y. · International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics · 2025

Randomized trial👥 78 participants⚖️ vs. control group (40 experimental, 38 control)Moderate rigor✓ Source-checked📍 Turkey
In plain English. 78 female university students in Turkey who dealt with PMS symptoms were split into a tapping group and a no-treatment group. The women who did two short tapping sessions before their period reported real improvement in their PMS symptoms compared with the group that didn't tap. It's a moderate-sized study in a young, healthy population, so it speaks most directly to that group.

What they found

78
people took part

After two EFT sessions delivered in the week before menstruation, the experimental group had significantly higher post-test SUE scores and lower PMS total/subscale scores than the control group (p<0.05).

How the study worked

Who took partSingle female university students of reproductive age with premenstrual syndrome complaints (İnönü University, Malatya) (n=78)
What they didIn a randomized controlled trial, participants were randomly assigned to receive tapping or a comparison condition, then measured and compared.
Compared withcontrol group (40 experimental, 38 control)
Measured withPremenstrual Syndrome (PMS) scale, Subjective Units of Experience (SUE) Scale

💡 Where this could help

Picture a young woman whose PMS derails her week every month, unable to justify a doctor's visit for something so 'normal.' If this finding generalizes, it points toward a technique learned in just two sessions and then hers to use, unsupervised, before her period each month, for the rest of her life, at no cost.

🔬 What to study next

Worth tracking the menstrual cycle mechanistically — does two-session tapping shift cortisol or HRV across the luteal phase, and does the PMS-symptom drop correspond to any measurable change in cycle-related autonomic patterns? It would also be worth testing whether the skill, taught once, keeps working across several subsequent cycles without further coaching, and whether app-based reminders timed to the luteal window could scale this to far more women.

The full record

DesignRandomized trial
Participants78 people
PopulationSingle female university students of reproductive age with premenstrual syndrome complaints (İnönü University, Malatya)
Comparison groupcontrol group (40 experimental, 38 control)
Outcome measuresPremenstrual Syndrome (PMS) scale, Subjective Units of Experience (SUE) Scale
JournalInternational Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics
Year2025
CountryTurkey
LanguageEnglish
MethodEFT / tapping
Publication typeStudy / trial
Verification✓ Confirmed against the primary source

Read the original study →

Cite this study

APA

Özşahin, Z., Güven Santur, S., Karakayalı Ay, Ç., & Aksoy Derya, Y. (2025). Does emotional freedom techniques affect premenstrual syndrome? A randomized controlled study. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.16115

This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Other Physical Conditions

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THE TAPPING EVIDENCE BASE Other Physical Conditions 78 participants WHAT THEY FOUND After two EFT sessions delivered in the weekbefore menstruation, the experimental grouphad significantly higher… Randomized trial · 78 participants Özşahin · 2025 · evidence.thetappingsolution.com