How To Relieve Period Cramps: 17 Ways
The discomfort is merely annoying for some women. For others, cramps can be severe enough to interfere with daily activities for a few days each month. If you belong to the first group, you need to know how to reduce period cramps. Maybe you will be surprised, but home remedies are the best in these cases. You can relieve cramps naturally, without pills. Does a heating pad help with cramps? How can your diet help? Can vitamins help? Lets discuss the details.
Go For Massage Therapy
You heard it here:
A nice and smooth massage is a great remedy for relieving stress, anxiety, and period cramps.
Experts have shown that massage therapy is very effective and helpful for reducing menstrual pain and stopping period cramps in women.
Therefore, if you are experiencing period cramps, getting a relaxing massage near your abdominal area of the body can be very helpful for relieving the pain and make you feel better.
Improving Your Diet Will Help Alleviate Period Cramps
Research has shown that reducing fat and increasing vegetables in your diet may help ease monthly cramps. A low-fat diet actually decreases overall levels of inflammation in the body, says Aldo Palmieri MD, an ob-gyn at UCLA Health and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles. A low-fat, vegetarian diet not only helps your health generally, says Dr. Palmieri, but it can have an indirect yet noticeable effect on menstrual cramps, too.
Trying to achieve a healthier diet? To start, swap out less healthy fats like the saturated fats found in animal products, and choose healthier ones like unsaturated fats found in olive oil, suggests the American Heart Association . And if youre having dairy, pick low-fat or fat-free products. Overall, try to get 25 to 35 percent of your total daily calories from healthier fats found in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils, the AHA suggests. A balanced plate is essential examples can be found at the healthy eating plate site from Harvard University in Boston.
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Period Pain Caused By A Medical Condition
Less commonly, period pain can be caused by an underlying medical condition.
Period pain linked to an underlying medical condition tends to affect older women. Women aged 30 to 45 are most commonly affected.
Medical conditions that can cause period pain include:
- endometriosis where cells that normally line the womb grow in other places, such as in the fallopian tubes and ovaries these cells can cause intense pain when they shed
- fibroids non-cancerous tumours that can grow in or around the womb and can make your periods heavy and painful
- pelvic inflammatory disease where your womb, fallopian tubes and ovaries become infected with bacteria, causing them to become severely inflamed
- adenomyosis where the tissue that normally lines the womb starts to grow within the muscular womb wall, making your periods particularly painful
Period Pain And Fertility
Period pain that’s part of your normal menstrual cycle will not affect your fertility. However, if the cause is a medical condition, this may affect your fertility.
For example, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease can cause scarring and a build-up of tissue in your fallopian tubes, making it harder for sperm to reach and fertilise an egg.
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How Do I Know Whats Causing Them
If you have very painful menstrual cramps or cramps that last longer than two or three days, make an appointment with your healthcare provider.
Theyll likely start by reviewing your medical history and performing a physical exam, including a pelvic exam. They may also give you a Pap test.
Depending on your other symptoms, they may recommend additional tests, including:
- an ultrasound to check the size and thickness of your uterus as well as detect fibroids or cysts
- a CT scan, which can provide a detailed view of your reproductive organs
- gynecologic laparoscopy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure, to confirm a diagnosis of endometriosis
Severe menstrual cramps are typically hard to treat on your own, but these tips may help while you work with your healthcare provider to narrow down an underlying cause:
- Get regular exercise. Results of a
Curl Up With A Heating Pad To Ease Period Cramps
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 alone, heat plus ibuprofen, ibuprofen alone, or a placebo. The best results were in the heat plus ibuprofen group adding heat led to faster improvements.
A review published in March 2014 in The Journal of Physiotherapy also found that heat significantly lessened a womans period pain.
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How Long Period Pain Lasts
Period pain usually starts when your bleeding begins, although some women have pain several days before the start of their period.
The pain usually lasts 48 to 72 hours, although it can last longer. It’s usually at its worst when your bleeding is heaviest.
Young girls often have period pain when they begin getting periods. Read more about starting periods.
Period pain that does not have an underlying cause tends to improve as a woman gets older. Many women also notice an improvement after they’ve had children.
How Your Menstrual Cycle Can Impact Exercise And Athletic Training
There are two main phases of the menstrual cycle: the follicular phase and the luteal phase.
What is the follicular phase? The follicular phase happens during the first half of your cycle. What is the luteal phase? The luteal phase is the second half of your cycle. These two halves feature distinctly different hormone levels, with lower levels during the follicular phase and higher levels during the luteal phase.
Researchers and physicians are discovering that these hormone levels have a big impact on muscle development and how an athletes body uses energy.
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Lifestyle Changes That Help Relieve Stomach Pain During Periods
It may be possible to find ways to deal with the painful days so they are less of a problem. For example, many women try to take things a bit easier in those days. Some find that relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, yoga or tai chi help them feel more relaxed and reduce stress. Getting a lot of exercises also helps relieve stomach pain during periods in some women.
Measures that may reduce the risk of Menstrual Cramps Include:
- Eating fruits and vegetables and limiting the intake of fat, alcohol, caffeine, salt, and sweets
- Exercising regularly
- Reducing stress
- Quitting smoking
If these also do not help over 2-3 months, then you can ask a gynecologist, to rule out infection or growth. Hence invasive procedures might be done for diagnostic purposes.
There is Another Type of Pain known as the MittelschmerzMittelschmerz is one-sided, lower abdominal pain associated with ovulation. German for middle pain, mittelschmerz occurs midway through a menstrual cycle about 14 days before your next menstrual period.
The Exact Cause of Mittelschmerz is Unknown, but Possible Reasons for the Pain Include these Just before an egg is released with ovulation, follicle growth stretches the surface of your ovary, causing pain. Blood or fluid released from the ruptured follicle irritates the lining of your abdomen , leading to pain.
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What Can I Do For Cramps
If cramps bother you, you can:
- Take a pain reliever. Talk to your mom or dad or your doctor about which medicine is best for you. They can help you figure out how much to take and how often.
- Exercise! Being physically active can ease cramps, probably because exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the body that make you feel good.
- Get warm. Try placing a warm water bottle, warm heating pad, or warm compress on your belly or take a warm bath.
If these tips dont help, talk to your parent or your doctor about other treatments.
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Got It But When Should You See A Doctor
Yes, period bloat is super normal, but if it doesnt seem to cycle with your cycle , or the bloating and your other PMS symptoms are really bothering you, talk to your ob-gyn.
Your doc may suggest keeping a symptom diary, according to the Mayo Clinic. This will help you keep track of your bloating and give your MD useful data to help determine next steps.
Yoga Position # : Corpse Pose
This pose is a frequent ending pose for yoga courses, and it can be especially useful in the practice of mindfulness to overcome menstrual pain. This one is less about stretching your body and more about relaxing or focusing your mind.
Corpse pose is also called Savasana. Lie flat on your back, and rest the palms of your hands facing up. Slowly relax your body, starting with the top of your head, then your neck, your shoulders, your spine, your arms and hands, your thighs, your calves, your ankles, and finally your feet.
Meditative breathing will help you focus on something other than period pain. Corpse pose is the best time to practice your diaphragmatic breathing . Take long, deep, and controlled breaths and avoid quick, shallow breathing.
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What Causes Period Cramps
Period cramps are caused by contractions in your uterus. These contractions are triggered by changes in your bodys hormone levels, particularly prostaglandins. When you menstruate, your uterus contracts and sheds its lining, which is released as blood through your vagina.
Some people are more likely to experience period pain, particularly those who:
- are younger than 30 years of age
- bleed heavily during their periods
- have irregular bleeding
Research shows that heating pads can help relieve period cramps and may even be more effective than taking acetaminophen .
You can buy abdominal heat patches online or at any drugstore. Theyre super easy to use just peel and stick them on your abdomen.
Electric heating pads and hot water bottles arent as convenient to use as patches, but theyre good choices if youre spending some time at home and dont need to move around much.
Research suggests that some essential oils can help ease period cramps when massaged onto the abdomen, especially when used in a blend of oils.
Oils that seem to be most effective at reducing period cramps include:
- cinnamon
- clove
Before using essential oils, youll want to mix them with a carrier oil, like coconut oil or jojoba oil. Carrier oils work by safely carrying the essential oil into your skin and helping to spread the oil over a large area. Youll also want to do a patch test before applying essential oils to your skin, just to check for an allergy.
Steak For Period Cramps
Does steak help period cramps? Absolutely, it sure can! Steak is filled with iron, and if you didnt know, you lose a lot of iron when you bleed. So, it stands to reason that having a good source of iron in your diet can help replenish some of the iron youre losing during your period, and that can help things go a little more smoothly its worth a try, right?
If you dont really like eating meat or steak in particular, you can find iron in cashews, tofu, dark leafy veggies, fortified breakfast cereals, and more.
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When Should I Call The Doctor
If your PMS is severe, your doctor can help with treatments, including medicine. Call the doctor if you:
- don’t feel better after trying home treatments
- feel very sad or hopeless
- ever think about hurting or killing yourself
- can’t do your usual activities because of your PMS symptoms
- have PMS symptoms that don’t go away after the first few days of your period
How To Stop Period Cramps At School Fast
Youre sitting in class, youre being a good student, youre going everything you need to do but all of a sudden youre hit with that familiar pain.
Period cramps at school can completely distract you from your studies, so here are some tips on how to stop period cramps at school whether theyve already started, or to try to reduce them before they strike.
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Finding The Source Of Your Stomach Cramps
Try to pinpoint the area of your pain. Doing this is important from the point of view of knowing how to treat them or knowing whether a doctors visit is essential. Abdominal pain is considered to be pain felt anywhere from below your ribs to your pelvis. The following indicators might assist you:
- Sharp, localized pains that stab or pierce can be a sign of a very serious condition such as appendicitis or a ruptured organ.
- A dull, generally-spread pain might be indicative that your cramps, while painful, are not dangerous, but may require off the counter medication.
- Menstrual cramps are clearly experienced only by those of menstruating age. These cramps usually occur in the first days of menstruation and do not last more than a few days.
- Stomach cramps after eating a large amount of food quickly, greasy food, foods youre allergic to, etc., can indicate a digestive system reaction.
- Lower back pain that persists might be a sign of kidney stones. See your doctor for advice.
- Pain and burning sensations on urinating or passing stools can be a sign of a urinary tract infection or constipation.
- Muscle spasms can bring about cramps when exercising or swimming.
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A Heating Pad For Period Cramps
There are all sorts of heating pads you can use. Ideally, hopping into a warm bath is the best way to soothe yourself with warmth, but a heating pad is a little more practical, and you can even be discreet about it at school.
There are warm compresses that you fill with hot water, or even just running an old t-shirt or towel under hot water can help. You can pop it in the microwave if you have a microwavable heating pad, or you might even have one that you can plug in.
The classic red rubber thing you fill up with hot water works great, but there are a lot of different types of them these days, including electric heating pads.
A little warmth can go a long way in helping your period pains so this is a great way to help period pains at school.
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What Causes Painful Menstrual Cramps
Menstrual cramps happen when a chemical called prostaglandin makes the uterus contract . The uterus, the muscular organ where a baby grows, contracts throughout your menstrual cycle. During menstruation, the uterus contracts more strongly. If the uterus contracts too strongly, it can press against nearby blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen to muscle tissue. You feel pain when part of the muscle briefly loses its supply of oxygen.
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How To Tell If Your Period Cramping Is Normal
Each girl or woman typically experiences a similar level of cramps from one month to the next, says Jackie Thielen, MD, an internist and womens health specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. For some women, monthly pain is minor. For others, it can be quite debilitating.
The main question doctors ask when determining whether your cramps are normal is Are they normal for you? Dr. Thielen says.
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Up The Magnesium In Your Diet
Dietary magnesium seems to help ease the pain of cramps, says DeJarra Sims, ND, a faculty member at Bastyr University in San Diego and the author of Your Healthiest Life Now.
Magnesium is found in many foods, including almonds, black beans, spinach, yogurt, and peanut butter.
If you want to take a magnesium supplement, Dr. Sims suggests speaking with your doctor, since the dose you need depends on the severity of your cramps along with other factors.
Treatment Of Period Pain
There is a range of medicines you can take to help with period pain.
Pain relief medication: Anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen, mefanamic acid or naproxen stop the body from producing prostaglandins. They are available over the counter from a pharmacy but they may not be suitable for everyone so speak to your pharmacist for advice first. You can also take paracetamol for mild cramps. Stronger pain killers containing codeine are only available with a prescription from a doctor.
Other treatments: Some women find that a heat pack, gentle exercise, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or acupuncture helps control the pain.
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How To Relieve Period Cramping With Peppermint Essential Oil
Essential oils are potent plant extracts that are being widely used in aroma therapy to treat various conditions. These are also quite effective in relieving menstrual cramps. Of these, you can try peppermint essential oil which is one of the best natural remedies for easing the pain.
How to use?
- Rub a few drops of peppermint essential oil in your palms and inhale it
- Alternatively, you can inhale it directly from the bottle
Benefits of Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil flushes you with the necessary energy required to be at your best even during your period. Its soothing fragrance calms you down, boost your mood and provides instant energy to manage your routine tasks.
Precautions
Peppermint Essential oil is highly potent and has a strong aroma that can cause headaches or nausea. If you are not able to tolerate its strong smell then dilute it with a carrier oil.