Moderate Aerobic Exercise for Managing Menstrual Cycle Symptoms

Summary

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:

* Have their body composition assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry pre and post exercise intervention.
* Complete a Menstrual Symptom Index (MSi) to report daily menstrual cycle related symptom burden in addition to the Premenstrual Symptom Screening Tool (PSST) and Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (HMB) questionnaire monthly.
* Utilize an at-home monitor to test urinary luteinizing hormone, estrone-3-glucuronide, and pregnanediol glucuronide approximately 10 times per month and report menstrual cycle length.
* Record physical activity habits by continuously wearing a wrist-based accelerometer and chest-strap heart rate monitor during planned aerobic exercise sessions and complete the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) monthly.
* Maintain their usual sedentary activity habits for one menstrual cycle followed by completion of an exercise intervention designed to progress individuals to meet minimum recommended aerobic physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes per week set by the American College of Sports Medicine for two menstrual cycles.

Conditions

• Premenstrual Syndrome
• Menstrual Cycle
• Menstrual Distress (Dysmenorrhea)
• Menstrual Bleeding, Heavy

Interventions

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.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-07-31

Primary Completion

2026-08-31

Completion

2026-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations