Acupressure is a complementary option some people try for period pain. Some recent reviews have reported lower pain scores with acupressure, but the evidence is still limited and study quality varies.
Acupuncture, hands-on acupressure and wearable magnetic patches are also different interventions. Evidence for one doesn't automatically apply to another.
If you're looking for ways to manage period pain, heat, appropriate pain-relief medicines, gentle movement and other established treatments are useful starting points. Acupressure can be considered alongside them if it's something you'd like to try.
Key takeaways
- Acupuncture uses fine needles, while acupressure uses pressure applied to selected points.
- Some newer studies suggest acupressure may reduce primary period pain, but the quality of the evidence is still limited.
- Traditional acupuncture concepts such as qi and meridians are part of traditional Chinese medicine rather than established explanations of period pain.
- Evidence for acupuncture or acupressure doesn't prove that wearable magnetic patches relieve period pain.
- Claims that static magnets increase blood flow, reduce inflammation or regulate the menstrual cycle haven't been established.
- Heat, anti-inflammatory medicines, hormonal treatments, exercise and TENS are other options for period pain.
- Severe, worsening or disruptive period pain deserves medical assessment.
On this page
- What are acupuncture and acupressure?
- Does acupressure help with period pain?
- What about magnetic acupressure patches?
- Acupuncture points traditionally associated with period pain
- Other ways to manage period pain
- When should you seek medical advice?
- Frequently asked questions
What are acupuncture and acupressure?
Acupuncture involves inserting very fine needles into selected points on the body.
Acupressure uses physical pressure on selected points instead, usually with the fingers, hands or a purpose-designed tool.
Both practices have roots in traditional Chinese medicine, where concepts such as meridians and qi are used to explain health and wellbeing.
Those ideas are part of a traditional medical framework rather than established biological explanations for menstrual pain.
Magnetic acupressure products are different again. They use small magnets placed over selected points, usually with an adhesive patch. They may be inspired by acupuncture or acupressure, but they aren't the same intervention as needle-based acupuncture or hands-on pressure.
If you'd like to try acupuncture, look for a practitioner registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia through Ahpra.
Does acupressure help with period pain?
Possibly, for some people, but the evidence is still uncertain.
The research picture has changed over time.
A Cochrane review published in 2016 included 42 trials involving 4,640 participants. It concluded that there wasn't enough reliable evidence at the time to determine whether acupuncture or acupressure was effective for primary dysmenorrhoea, which is period pain without an underlying pelvic condition.
The quality of the evidence was rated low or very low, with problems including risk of bias, inconsistent results and poor reporting.
More recent reviews have been somewhat more positive.
A 2025 systematic review included 23 randomised trials of acupressure, with 20 included in the meta-analysis. Acupressure was associated with lower menstrual pain scores compared with placebo acupressure, usual treatment and oral medication.
However, the researchers still described the overall evidence as low quality and said larger, better-designed studies were needed.
Another 2025 review of 22 trials involving 1,955 participants found that various forms of acupoint stimulation may reduce pain, but certainty ranged from low to moderate because of substantial differences between studies and concerns about bias.
An Australian clinical review published in 2024 similarly describes the evidence for acupuncture and acupressure as low quality, while noting that they may be considered by people who want complementary treatment options.
Taken together, this means acupressure may help some people with period pain, but we can't promise how much it will help or whether it will work for a particular person.
What about magnetic acupressure patches?
Magnetic acupressure patches combine a small static magnet with an adhesive patch worn over selected points.
Products such as Yin Flow Pain Relief Magnets are acupuncture-inspired products designed to be incorporated into a period comfort or self-care routine.
It's important to separate that from the research on acupuncture and hands-on acupressure.
An acupuncture-inspired design doesn't demonstrate that magnets themselves relieve period pain.
A systematic review of randomised trials of static magnets for pain found no significant overall reduction in pain compared with placebo magnets. The review wasn't specifically about menstrual pain, but it means there isn't good evidence for assuming static magnets have a general pain-relieving effect.
We aren't aware of reliable clinical trials showing that wearable static magnets relieve menstrual cramps.
Traditional use, personal experience and evidence
It can help to separate three different things when assessing products like these:
- Traditional use describes why particular points are selected within acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine.
- Personal experience describes whether an individual feels a product is useful or comforting.
- Clinical evidence asks whether reliable research shows that the intervention consistently improves pain compared with an appropriate control.
Someone can genuinely enjoy using a product without that establishing a clinical treatment effect.
Claims that wearable static magnets increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, regulate hormones or regulate the menstrual cycle haven't been established.
Important information about Yin Flow magnets
If you're using Yin Flow Pain Relief Magnets, follow the instructions supplied with the product rather than using a general acupuncture-point description as a placement guide.
The current product instructions advise against use by people with electronic implants such as pacemakers, implantable defibrillators and insulin pumps. They also advise against use during pregnancy and by people with epilepsy.
Therapeutic magnets should also be removed before MRI imaging, and you should tell the imaging team that you've been using them.
Stop using the patches if the adhesive irritates your skin or they cause discomfort.
If you have an implanted device, are pregnant, have epilepsy or have another medical condition that may affect whether the product is suitable, ask an appropriate healthcare professional before use.
Acupuncture points traditionally associated with period pain
The following points are used in traditional acupuncture practice for menstrual symptoms.
The descriptions below explain their traditional use rather than presenting them as proven home treatments. If you're using an acupuncture-inspired product, follow its own placement instructions.
ST29 (Gui Lai)
ST29 is located on the lower abdomen and is traditionally used in acupuncture approaches relating to menstruation and reproductive health.
Traditional explanations sometimes describe the point as supporting circulation or movement through the lower abdomen. There isn't good evidence that applying pressure or a static magnet to ST29 increases uterine circulation or reliably relieves menstrual cramps.
SP8 (Di Ji)
SP8 is located on the inner lower leg and is traditionally associated with acute menstrual discomfort.
That traditional association doesn't establish that pressure or a magnet applied to the point provides urgent pain relief or regulates the menstrual cycle.
LV3 (Tai Chong)
LV3 is located on the top of the foot between the first and second metatarsal bones.
Within traditional Chinese medicine it is associated with concepts such as promoting the smooth flow of qi and is sometimes selected when menstrual symptoms occur alongside feelings of tension or irritability.
Descriptions such as “flow” and “release” refer to traditional concepts rather than a demonstrated biological mechanism for treating period pain.
Other ways to manage period pain
You don't need to rely on one approach. Period pain can often be managed using a combination of measures depending on what works for you and whether there is an underlying cause.
Pain-relief medicines
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen, naproxen and mefenamic acid are commonly used for primary period pain because they reduce the production of prostaglandins involved in uterine contractions.
They aren't suitable for everyone. Check with a pharmacist or doctor if you have a medical condition, take other medicines or aren't sure whether they're appropriate for you.
Follow the dosage instructions on the medicine or those given by your healthcare professional.
Hormonal treatments
Hormonal contraception can reduce period pain for some people.
Options may include the combined pill, vaginal ring, contraceptive implant or hormonal IUD depending on your health, contraception needs and preferences.
Your GP can discuss whether one of these options is appropriate for you.
Heat
A heat pack, heat pad, warm bath or shower can help ease menstrual cramps.
Heat is one of the commonly recommended self-care options for period pain and can be used alongside other treatments.
Follow the instructions supplied with heat products and protect your skin from burns.
Gentle movement
Regular exercise may reduce primary period pain over time, although study quality varies.
Walking, swimming, stretching and yoga are all options if movement feels comfortable.
You don't need to exercise through significant pain. Rest is also a reasonable choice.
Our guide to gentle yoga poses for period pain has some ideas if you'd like to try movement.
TENS
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, delivers mild electrical pulses through adhesive pads placed on the skin.
A 2024 Cochrane review included 20 randomised trials involving 585 participants and found that both high-frequency and low-frequency TENS may reduce primary period pain compared with placebo or no treatment.
The certainty of the evidence was low, however, and reporting of side effects was limited.
Follow the instructions supplied with your TENS device and ask a healthcare professional if you're unsure whether it's suitable for you.
Read our guide to TENS and EMS machines for more.
Rest and relaxation
Comfortable positioning, rest, breathing exercises or other relaxation techniques may help you cope with discomfort.
They can be used alongside other approaches, but you shouldn't have to put up with severe pain without support.
When should you seek medical advice?
Period pain that regularly stops you doing your usual activities deserves attention.
Make an appointment with your GP if:
- pain stops you attending work, school or doing your usual activities
- your periods are becoming more painful
- the pattern of your pain has changed
- pain-relief medicines and heat aren't giving enough relief
- you experience pelvic pain between periods
- you have pain during sex
- you have pain when passing urine or opening your bowels
- you bleed between periods
- your periods become unusually heavy
- you have unusual vaginal discharge or fever
Conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and fibroids can cause secondary period pain.
Symptoms alone can't tell you whether one of these conditions is responsible, so medical assessment is the way to investigate persistent or changing pain.
Read our guide to endometriosis for more information.
When is pelvic pain urgent?
Call triple zero (000) or go to your nearest emergency department for sudden or severe pelvic or abdominal pain, particularly if you also have fainting, significant dizziness, fever, repeated vomiting or feel seriously unwell.
If pregnancy is possible, sudden or severe pelvic pain needs prompt medical assessment, especially if it occurs with vaginal bleeding, shoulder-tip pain, dizziness or fainting.
If you're unsure how urgently you need care, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
Keeping a record of your pain, bleeding and other symptoms can also help when you speak with your doctor.
Period Shop's free downloadable period tracker can help you record patterns across your cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Does acupressure work for period cramps?
Some recent reviews have found lower pain scores with acupressure, but study quality is still limited and results vary. It may help some people, but it can't be guaranteed to relieve period pain.
Is acupuncture better than acupressure for period pain?
There isn't enough high-quality evidence to confidently say one is better. Acupuncture involves needles inserted by a trained practitioner, while acupressure applies pressure without needles. Your preference, access to a registered practitioner, cost and comfort may all influence which approach you choose.
Are magnetic patches proven to relieve period pain?
No. Evidence for acupuncture or hands-on acupressure doesn't automatically apply to static magnets. A systematic review of static magnets for pain found no convincing overall pain-relieving effect, and reliable studies specifically showing that wearable magnets reduce period pain are lacking.
Can magnets improve blood flow or reduce inflammation?
These mechanisms have been proposed for static magnetic products, but they haven't been established as clinically meaningful effects in people using wearable magnets for period pain.
Who shouldn't use Yin Flow magnets?
The current product instructions advise against use if you have an electronic implant such as a pacemaker, implantable defibrillator or insulin pump, during pregnancy or if you have epilepsy. Magnets must also be removed before an MRI. Check the instructions supplied with your product and speak with an appropriate healthcare professional if you're unsure.
What treatments have stronger evidence for period pain?
Anti-inflammatory medicines and hormonal treatments are commonly used first-line medical options. Heat, exercise and TENS can also be useful for some people. Which options suit you depends on your health, the severity of your pain and whether another condition is causing it.
Finding an approach that suits you
Acupuncture, acupressure and magnetic patches are different approaches and shouldn't be treated as though the evidence for one automatically proves the others work.
If you're interested in complementary care, it's reasonable to try an approach that feels comfortable to you while understanding what the research can and can't tell us.
That might mean seeing a registered acupuncturist, trying hands-on acupressure or choosing an acupuncture-inspired wellness product as part of your comfort routine.
The important distinction is between something you personally enjoy using and something that has been clinically shown to treat menstrual pain.
If your pain is severe, worsening or interfering with everyday life, don't rely on complementary products alone. Speak with a healthcare professional about possible causes and treatment options.
Download Period Shop's free period tracker to record when your pain occurs and what seems to help.
Related reading
- 8 gentle yoga poses to try for period pain
- TENS vs EMS machines
- Endometriosis: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
- How to talk to a doctor about vaginal concerns
Sources and further reading
- Cochrane: Acupuncture and acupressure for period pain
- Yu et al. 2025: Acupressure for primary dysmenorrhoea
- Clinical evidence of acupoint stimulation for primary dysmenorrhoea
- Australian Journal of General Practice: Dysmenorrhoea
- Cochrane: TENS for primary dysmenorrhoea
- Pittler et al.: Static magnets for reducing pain
- healthdirect: Managing period pain
This article provides general educational information and isn't a substitute for individual medical advice. Traditional acupuncture descriptions are included for context and shouldn't be interpreted as proof that a particular point or product will relieve menstrual pain.