Menstrual cramps are cramp-like pain that begins in the groin and lower abdomen before or during menstruation. Pain may radiate to the hips, legs, and lower back. The severity varies from person to person.
While this pain is very mild in some people, it can be severe enough to affect daily life in others. There are even patients who faint due to menstrual pain or apply to the emergency services of hospitals.
What Will We Learn?
What Causes Menstrual Cramps?
Menstrual pain in healthy young girls is called primary dysmenorrhea. The substance that causes menstrual pain is a substance called prostaglandin, which is secreted from the inner wall of the uterus, which is shed during the menstrual period. This substance causes contraction of the uterine muscles.
Normally, the uterine muscles contract during each menstrual period, causing the inner wall of the uterus to shed.
When the contractions are too severe, pressure on the uterine vessels is exerted and the blood flow and oxygen amount to the uterus decreases. Lack of oxygen is a factor that increases pain.
When Does Menstrual Cramps Begin?
Menstrual pains usually begin one or two years after young girls’ first menstruation. Its severity decreases over the years. After the first birth, this pain is significantly reduced.
Who Is More Likely To Experience Menstrual Cramps?
- In women under 30
- Those with a family history of menstrual cramps
- Those who had their first period before the age of 11
- In those with heavy menstrual bleeding
- In those with irregular menstrual bleeding (intermediate bleeding)
- In smokers
What Are The Reasons?
Menstrual pain can sometimes be a sign of an underlying health problem. The gynecological diseases that can cause this pain are listed below:
- Fibroids
- Adenomyosis
- Endometriosis
- PID (Tube and ovarian inflammation)
- Cervical stenosis
It is recommended to undergo examination and examination in terms of the above-mentioned gynecological diseases, especially in those over the age of 40 who have this pain.
Especially in the presence of endometriosis disease, pain in the anus can be seen during the menstrual period.
What Are The Reasons That Increase This Pain?
As the amount of the substance called prostaglandin, which contracts the uterine wall, increases, the severity of menstrual pain increases.
Is It Normal To Have Menstrual Cramps?
Menstrual pain, especially seen in young girls, is mostly normal and there is no underlying health problem. However, in the presence of severe pain that can affect life, physician control and treatment are recommended.
Is It Normal To Not Have Menstrual Cramps?
Some young girls may not have menstrual pain due to structural and genetic reasons, and this is a normal situation.
Menstrual Pain Treatment
Unfortunately, superstitions are common in our society that patients with menstrual cramps are not treated or that treatment may have bad consequences such as infertility.
However, treatment is recommended for menstrual pain that affects the quality of life. You can find detailed information about menstrual pain and its treatment below.
What Are The Treatment Methods?
Basically, some lifestyle changes are recommended in the first step.
Drug therapy or surgical treatment may be considered if lifestyle change does not work.
What Is Good For Menstrual Cramps?
- Regular exercise
- Taking a hot bath or placing a hot water bottle on the abdomen and groin area
- Using various food supplements (vitamin E, omega 3, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, magnesium)
- Reducing stress
- Using relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, breathing therapy
Menstrual pain that does not improve with the above methods and affects life is usually treated with medication in two ways:
- Pain relievers
- Birth control pills or hormonal spirals
Surgical treatment may be necessary in patients who do not benefit from the above-mentioned treatments and have health problems such as uterine fibroids, adenomyosis, and endometriosis.
How To Deal With Such Pain At Home?
- Regular exercise (especially yoga),
- Vaginal orgasm reduces the feeling of pain by increasing endorphins and oxytocin,
- Acupuncture,
- Putting a hot water bottle on the groin,
- Nutritional changes,
- Food supplements,
- Herbal teas,
- Massage of the pubic area with natural essential oils.
Eating the following foods can be good for menstrual pain:
- You can supplement magnesium as a medicine or, better yet, consume plenty of magnesium-rich foods (Almond, Black Bean, Spinach, Yogurt, Peanut Butter)
- Drinking lots of water
- Consuming fish rich in Vitamin B6, Vitamin D and omega 3 acids, such as salmon
- Consuming dark green leafy vegetables (They are both iron and calcium store)
- Consuming banana, pineapple and kiwi
- Consuming calcium-rich dill, greens, milk, cheese, yogurt
- Consuming oats (because it is rich in fiber, zinc and magnesium)
- Consuming eggs (because it is rich in vitamins B6, D and E)
- Ginger
- Dark chocolate (with 85 percent or more cocoa)
- Olive oil
- Raw nuts
Foods To Avoid
- Fatty foods (especially animal fats)
- Alcohol
- Carbonated drinks
- Caffeine
- Salty foods
Which Herbal Tea Should Be Drunk?
- Chamomile tea
- Mint tea
- Cramp bark -gilabolu tea (viburnum opulus tea)
- Ginger tea
- Fennel tea
- cinnamon tea
- Pycnogenol (French maritime pine bark) tea
- Dill tea
If you are asking if you can have sex during menstruation, you should read this article.
