“Dysmenorrheal” is the medical term of menstrual cramp or pain caused during menstrual period.

Being a woman, you must have heard about this or even experienced this.

Nearly every woman experiences these cramps at least once in her life. There is no specific age limit for these cramps.

These cramps range from slight discomfort, interfering daily with routine and severely annoying.

Categorization of the cramps:

  • Primary Dysmenorrheal(cramps)
  • Secondary Dysmenorrheal (cramps)Menstrual Cramp

Primary cramps are often seen in young girls who have just started their menstruation cycle. Pain is felt in the lower abdomen, back and some times even in thighs.

Pains start shortly before the onset of the periods and last for three to five days. These cramps become less severe in your mid-twenties or even stop when you give birth to a child.

Secondary cramp is the pain caused due to the disorder in reproductive organs such as fibroid tumors, pelvic adhesions, endometriosis and ovarian cysts. It usually begins in early stage of menstrual cycle and last longer than regular menstrual cramps.

Reasons for the cramps:

For primary cramps, the cause of pain is exactly unknown, but it can be caused due to the below reasons:

  • Irregular periods or delayed periods
  • Under weight or over weight
  • Over exercise or lack of exercise
  • Production of prostaglandins, natural chemicals which cause pain
  • Contraction of muscle in uterus
  • Flow of blood to cervix is hard

The pain may feel like regular pain but does not last for 3-5 days but prolongs through out the month.

Secondary cramps are serious and have an underlying cause.

  • Uterus is tipped
  • Endometriosis is a situation in which same form of tissue present in uterus is also found out side uterus, usually in pelvic cavity
  • Adenomyosis is a condition where endometriosis grows outside the uterus and penetrates into the muscle of uterus
  • Unusual growth of fibroids
  • Pelvic inflammatory infection in lower reproductive system that spreads to upper reproductive system and causes pain
  • An IUD(intrauterine device which prevents pregnancy)
  • Uterine polyp( grown in uterine cavity, causing pain and over bleeding)
  • Adhesions or scarring from earlier surgeries

Overcoming cramps:

There is no such treatment present to treat primary cramps. But youcan fight the pain by

  • Using pain killers
  • Heating pads
  • Regular physical activities
  • Including zinc, magnesium and calcium supplements in diet reduces pain.
  • Taking a warm bath and making use of Aromatherapy
  • Reduce stress using yoga.

For secondary cramps the above treatments can also be used, other than that

  • Hormonal imbalances should be treated by supplements
  • Birth control pills can relive pain by suppressing the production of ovulation and reduce the amount of menstrual blood.
  • In severe cases the removal of uterus is suggested.