Does Acupressure Help Period Cramps?What Trials Show

Acupressure means pressing firmly on specific points on the body, usually with a thumb or fingertip. For period cramps, it costs nothing and you can do it yourself. Several reviews have pooled the trials.

The main review

A review from Beijing gathered 23 randomized trials and pooled 20 of them.¹ Acupressure was compared with fake acupressure, pain pills, or usual care.¹

• Acupressure eased period pain more than fake acupressure.¹
• It also came out ahead of pain pills and usual care in these trials.¹
• Side effects were reported in only two studies, and they were mild.¹

The authors rated the evidence low quality and called for larger, better trials.¹ A result that beats pain pills on low-quality evidence needs checking before anyone swaps their ibuprofen for it.

The point most studies used

One commonly studied point is SP6, also called Sanyinjiao or Spleen 6.² A review of 19 studies with 1,171 women found pressing or needling it reduced pain, though results varied a lot between studies.²

How it ranks among non-drug options

A review of 33 trials compared eight non-drug treatments: exercise, herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, TENS, heat, acupressure and yoga.³

• All eight eased period pain compared with placebo or no treatment.³
• Exercise, acupuncture and heat ranked as the most likely to help.³
• Overall, the benefit was a reduction or slight reduction in pain, and better research is needed.³

Fitting it into a cramp plan

1. Anti-inflammatory painkillers. See what 80 trials found on painkillers for cramps.
2. Heat and movement rank well among non-drug options.³ See heat pads and exercise for cramps.
3. Acupressure is a reasonable extra to try alongside them, since it’s free and side effects in trials were mild.¹

Try: “My cramps still stop me for a day each month even with ibuprofen and a heat pad. What else could I add, and should we look for a cause?”

Period, Handled covers this in Chapter 7, “Cramps That Stop You,” in a section called “The Pain Kit.” The Pain Kit plans what you’ll reach for, and when, before day one arrives, and its Period Scorecard gives pain a score from 0 to 10, so you can tell whether a new addition helped. See the book.