Managing Painful Periods
Menstrual pain (aka Dysmenorrhea) is extremely common. Surveyed women reported that menstrual pain was reported by 84.1% of participants, with 43.1% reporting that pain occurred during every period, and 41% reporting that pain occurred during some periods.
At least one in four women experiences distressing menstrual pain characterised by a need for medication and absenteeism from study or social activities.
Article which goes into the impact of period pain on women.
Often women are told that painful periods are just something to be expected. Some discomfort is within what we would say is normal. Aka mild cramping on day one which is relieved from over the counter medication. However, persistent and bothersome pain that impacts our daily lives IS NOT NORMAL.
Unfortunately when women bring these concerns up to their health professionals they are often dismissed or pain is told to be normal or psychological. Please know, if you come to see us at Kin, we will always believe you and take your pain seriously.
What do I do if I am having painful periods?
I would first consult with a women’s health focused GP that can send for further testing to investigate the cause. Endometriosis can be a cause of pelvic pain and it is finally getting the air time it deserves and for good reason. Endometriosis is a condition that can cause painful periods. Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (womb) grows outside of the uterus. It is known that Endo can drive pelvic pain, however, we also know that the amount of endo present isn’t proportionate to the amount of pain experienced by a client. For instance someone can have a lot of endo present, however they may experience minimal symptoms. Where other patients may have small amounts of endo present and experience signficant pain. Correct diagnosis of pain can help to validate our pain experience but it also opens up an avenue to different treatment options.
There are two types of period pain.
Primary Dysmenorrhea:
Which is where the pain is caused by natural inflammatory chemicals called prostaglandins. These molecules cause the muscles and blood vessels of the uterus to contract to help shed the lining of the uterus. Typically this occurs on day one of your period when the levels of prostaglandins are high. As bleeding continues the levels of prostaglandins go down, as well as pain levels.
There is no underlying pathology which causes primary dysmenorrhea. Typically over the counter medications, heat packs and gentle stretches are encouraged to help bring down pain levels.
Secondary Dysmenorrhea:
Are caused by underlying conditions.
This includes endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disorder and the presence of fibroids.
What to do if I am experiencing period pain?
Investigating and understanding the cause of your period pain can lead to different treatment avenues.
I would first consult with a women’s health focused GP that can send for further testing to investigate the cause.
Endometriosis can be a cause of period pain and it is finally getting the air time it deserves. Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus (womb) grows outside of the uterus. It is known that endo can drive pelvic pain, however, we also know that the amount of endo present isn’t proportionate to the amount of pain experienced by a client. For instance someone can have a lot of endo present, however they may experience minimal symptoms. Where other patients may have small amounts of endo present and experience signficant pain. Correct diagnosis of pain can help to validate our pain experience but it also opens up an avenue to different treatment options.
How Can Pelvic Health Physio Help Period Pain?
Often when we are exposed to pain, one of our bodies coping mechanisms is to contract and spasm our muscles.
Which is great initially. If you were to really injure yourself, you want to have muscle spasm there to protect the area.
However, when this occurs over a period of time, this contracted muscle can start to produce pain itself.
This can happen to the pelvic floor.
Pelvic floor physio’s can teach you how to relax your pelvic floor through breathing, body scans, stretches as well as internal massage.
Relaxing your pelvic floor can help to reduce pain levels during your cycle.
What else can help?
Diet and nutrition: I would recommend working alongside a dietitian, nutritionist or naturopath that has a strong interest in hormones and gut health. Side note: when working alongside a clinician you always want to see someone that has an interest in your area of dysfunction. We are only human and we love to research areas that we are passionate about.
Aerobic exercise: Aerobic treadmill based exercises were completed by women whoe experienced period pain over a 6 month period. This was shown to significantly improve period pain. Many of the participants continued to exercise after the study concluded because of the benefits that they felt.
TENS: there are many tens machines on the market that can be used to help improve period pain.
Stretches: Pelvic stretches have been shown to help reduce period pain. This is thought to be due to a similar reason as to why pelvic floor physio can be helpful.
Conclusion:
Having a team of health professionals to support you, whether this be women’s health physio’s, sexologists, gynaecologist, women’s health GP’s etc can help to improve your treatment options.
Severe period pain is common, but it isn’t normal, don’t be afraid to reach out for help regarding this!
