For women, one of the most unpleasant things they could experience is menstrual cramps.
Valinda Riggins Nwadike, MD, MPH from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and Columbia University, in her article in the MedicalNewsToday described menstrual cramps, also known as dysmenorrhea, as the dull, throbbing, cramping pain in the lower abdomen, just above the pelvic bone.
Menstrual cramps can be categorized into primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea is painful cramps that only occur with menstruation, while secondary is period pain that is caused by other medical problems such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids, or pelvic inflammatory disease.
Obstetrician-Gynecologist and pain medicine physician Dr. Jen Gunter published on her popular women’s health blog that pain from primary dysmenorrhea is caused by a strong muscle contraction of the uterus which is mediated mostly by a hormone-like substance called the prostaglandins. Aside from it causing the uterus to contract, they are also algesic substances that increase the pain signaling.
In an article by the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, they found that in about 10% of people who menstruate, pain is so bad that they’re unable to carry out their usual daily activities on one to three days every month.
To further put into perspective how bad menstrual cramps feel, Professor of Reproductive Health at the University College London, John Guillebaud described cramping pain as “almost as bad as having a heart attack” in a 2018 interview with Quartz.
However, this comparison was questioned by Dr. Jen Gunter in the same article. According to her, heart attacks often produce vague symptoms or only mild pain, which is why people ignore them or are often unaware of it.
“[I]f you need an analogy to describe period pain, use labor or cutting your finger off without an anesthetic. A heart attack is often not painful or only mildly painful, especially for women, so for me that analogy just doesn’t cut it,” she wrote.
So here are some tips from health professionals to alleviate menstrual cramps:
Exercise
Exercising regularly and staying active, partnered with certain lifestyle measures, has always been a piece of advice to possibly prevent or reduce cramping once menstruation starts. On a study about the effects of yoga on young women who experience primary dysmenorrhea, researchers found that yoga brought significant improvement on the menstrual pain, physical fitness, and quality of life of women who practiced yoga for 30 minutes a day, twice a week, for 12 weeks, as opposed to those who did not. One study also concluded that acupuncture could be an effective treatment for primary dysmenorrhea as they recorded a significant reduction in its general pain and effects to women who underwent acupuncture for a certain period of time, as opposed to those who didn’t. Exercises, however, are not exclusive to being a ‘prevention’—it can also be done during menstruation. Nwadike, on a Healthline article, listed the benefits of exercising during the period:
- Decreases PMS symptoms
- Taps into your endorphins
- Experience more strength and power
- Enhances your mood
- Combats painful periods
There are various health sites and apps, such as Natural Cycles, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Flo, that offer light exercise programs for those undergoing menstrual pain. Its goals are usually focused on reducing the tightness of the muscles on your abdominals, hips, glutes, and lower back.
Food
Obstetrician-Gynecologist Kate Shkodzik, a former medical advisor at Flo, made a list of foods to eat and avoid during a period.
Food to eat:
Since a woman’s body goes through so much during menstruation, what with the loss of blood and rapid hormonal shifts, it is best to stock up on foods that are rich in iron, antioxidants, fiber, and have soothing and anti-inflammatory properties such as:
- Salmon
- Dark chocolate
- Oatmeal
- Watermelons, figs, and plums
- Citrus
- Eggs
- Chamomile, and other herbal tea
Food to avoid:
Those who are undergoing menstruation should avoid foods that aggravate bloating and fatigue, and boost menstrual flow, such as:
- Processed foods
- Candy and snacks
- Alcohol
- Spicy foods
Home Remedies and Medicine
If the pain is becoming unbearable, women can still trust the traditional way of relieving the pain:
Hot compress
“The uterus is a muscle, so anything that helps relax muscles, like applying heat, can be beneficial,” said Jackie Thielen, MD, an internist and women’s health specialist at the Mayo Clinic.
This has been backed by a research published in Evidence-Based Nursing that found continuous topical heat was as effective as ibuprofen or dysmenorrhea.
Painkillers
According to Healthline, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) are the primary over-the-counter (OTC) form of pain relief recommended for menstrual pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. These drugs help lower the production of prostaglandin, and hence help reduce the pain.