Period pain can be so bad that doctors have given it a medical name: dysmenorrhea. It’s a prevalent condition. More than half of women who menstruate report some pain from period cramps each month, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). While cramps are not usually signs of a severe health condition, they could be. And they undoubtedly put a crimp in your lifestyle since you can’t go out with friends or even go to work when you’re doubled over 子宮腺肌症.
Dysmenorrhea is thought to be caused by compounds in the body known as prostaglandins. Before menstruation starts each month, the prostaglandins level in the uterus lining increases. Your prostaglandin level is highest on the first day of your menstrual period, which is why menstrual pain is usually worse. As your period progresses and the lining of the uterus is shed, your prostaglandin level decreases, and pain gets better, ACOG states.
Each girl or woman typically experiences similar cramps from one month to the next, says Jackie Thielen, MD, an internist and women’s health specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. For some women, monthly pain is minor. For others, it can be pretty debilitating. Doctors’ primary question when determining whether your cramps are normal is, “Are they normal for you?” Dr. Thielen says.
Most of the time, menstrual cramps can be treated by women at home. But if your pain is severe and impacts your lifestyle, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor. You might need medicines only available by prescription or some other treatment to help. To help reduce period pain, here are ten safe and effective home remedies for menstrual cramp relief.
Whether it’s stretching your muscles or the relaxing effect of the poses, a regular yoga practice can help your cramps. When 20 undergraduate students did an hour-long yoga program once a week for three months, they had less menstrual cramping and period distress than 20 women who didn’t, according to researchers for a study published in September 2016 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
The Journal of Physiotherapy review that sanctioned heating pads also found benefits for yoga. You can practice during your period or between them. Still, some instructors advise women against doing inverted poses (like a shoulder stand) amid menstruation to avoid interfering with your natural flow.”The uterus is a muscle, so anything that helps relax muscles, like applying heat, can be beneficial, Thielen says.
Indeed, research published in Evidence-Based Nursing found that topically applied heat was just as effective as ibuprofen for period cramps. Over the two study days, the women used heat plus ibuprofen alone or with a placebo. The best results were in the heat plus ibuprofen group; adding heat led to faster improvements.
The moderate use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medication like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) is one of the best ways to curb period pain, Thielen says. This is because NSAIDs reduce the number of prostaglandins in the body. For this reason, taking a pill just before you get your period can keep the pain-causing prostaglandins from rising, she says.