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Abdominal pain that occurs during menstruation is a very common phenomenon. Any woman has faced such discomfort at least several times in her life. The pain, as a rule, gains the maximum intensity in the first days of the onset of menstrual bleeding, and then gradually subsides.
Painful sensations can vary from sharp and very intense, to almost imperceptible and slightly palpable. If the latter type of pain is a physiological condition that may well be due to the monthly hormonal surge, then severe pain should not be ignored.
In medicine, severe pain during menstruation is called dysmenorrhea. This concept also combines general weakness, nausea, headaches, lack of appetite and other signs of malaise. Such a phenomenon should not be tolerated, it is necessary to find out the cause of dysmenorrhea and eliminate it.
Why can there be pain in the abdomen during menstruation?
To understand the physiological cause of pain, you need to understand the mechanism of menstrual bleeding. So, from the inside, the uterus is lined with endometrium, which is actively supplied with blood. When ovulation occurs, the endometrium produces hormones that the fertilized egg will need to attach to the uterine wall. If fertilization does not happen, then the old endometrium is rejected, which is expressed in the next menstrual bleeding.
To remove all unnecessary endometrium, the uterus begins to contract. It is these contractions that cause pain during menstruation. Normally, they should not interfere with a woman’s quality of life.
However, it happens that each cycle is accompanied by intense pain, the causes of which may be as follows:
Hereditary factor. As a rule, most women do not experience severe pain during menstruation. They always have some discomfort, but it is not so intense as to take any painkillers. At the same time, about 35% of women have menstrual pains that are quite strong. They are able to knock it out of the usual rhythm of life, reduce efficiency. It has been established that the younger the girl, the stronger the pain during menstruation. In this case, the hereditary factor is of no small importance. If mother and grandmother suffered from dysmenorrhea, then with a high degree of probability their daughter and granddaughter will suffer from abdominal pain during menstruation.
Congenital anomalies in the development of the genital organs. Violation of the outflow of menstrual blood against the background of anomalies in the development of internal genital organs will lead to the appearance of severe pain during menstruation. These defects include a closed accessory uterine horn and a closed accessory vagina. Pain in women with these developmental anomalies occurs already during the first menstruation and will be present with every bleeding.
Violation in the production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are biologically active substances that are produced by many internal body systems. If their concentration in the blood increases, then the strength of uterine contractions increases. Naturally, this leads to pain.
Endocrine pathologies. With a hormonal imbalance, there is a failure in the work of all body systems. First of all, it concerns the reproductive system. Pain during menstruation is observed more often when the level of estrogen in the blood exceeds the norm, and the level of progesterone, on the contrary, is too low. The more estrogens in a woman’s body, the stronger the dysregulation of the tone and contractions of the smooth muscles of the uterus, which means the more intense the pain. Often such a violation is accompanied by a failure in the menstrual function.
Endometriosis. The growth of uterine endometrial cells in atypical places for them leads to abdominal pain during menstruation. The fact is that the engrafted endometrium behaves according to the cycle. This means that during the period of the next menstrual bleeding, it begins to renew itself, causing inflammation and pain at the site of its attachment.
Endometriosis is a fairly common pathology. It is diagnosed in 7-9% of women of childbearing age and can cause infertility.
Myoma of the uterus. Uterine fibroids are benign tumors of the muscular layer of the uterus. Most often, it begins to develop against the background of hormonal imbalance. The larger the fibroid nodes, the more intense the pain that a woman experiences during menstruation. In addition, bleeding becomes profuse, prolonged, accompanied by the release of blood clots.
The presence of an intrauterine device. If a woman has installed an intrauterine device for herself, then she should be prepared for the fact that menstruation will be painful. Sometimes the cycle is completely broken, bleeding becomes longer and more abundant. It is worth noting that the intrauterine device provokes such violations infrequently.
Inflammatory processes of the internal genital organs. Inflammation of the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and the uterine mucosa can lead to severe pain in the abdomen during menstruation.
Adhesions in the pelvic organs. Adhesions are connective tissue strands that are located between the internal organs. They reduce their mobility and can increase pain during menstruation.
Varicose veins of the pelvic organs. This pathology often develops due to a sedentary lifestyle of a woman, or against the background of endometriosis or tumors of the genital organs. Overfilling of vessels with blood, their pathological stretching and change in structure leads to the fact that during menstruation a woman may experience severe pain.
Psycho-emotional overload. It has been proven that strong emotional upheavals, stress and depression can affect the functioning of the pituitary and hypothalamus. In turn, this provokes an increase in the pain threshold, which means that menstrual pain will be reflected in a much greater intensity.
Psychogenic reason hurts. If the woman’s psyche is very labile, or she has an astheno-vegetative syndrome, then pain may increase during menstruation. Most often, fear of menstruation is observed in young girls who have just entered puberty.
So, not always the cause of pain during menstruation lies in the presence of any pathology. However, you can make sure that everything is in order with your health only by visiting a doctor and undergoing a comprehensive examination.
How to get rid of severe pain in the abdomen during menstruation?
If a woman is sure that menstrual pain is not associated with any pathology of the internal organs or disease, then the following recommendations can be used to make her feel better:
Take a warm shower, or apply a warm but not hot heating pad to your lower abdomen. This will expand the blood vessels, facilitating the passage of blood through them. The muscles will relax, which will make the intensity of their contractions less noticeable.
During rest, you can take the fetal position, which helps to reduce pain. To do this, you need to pull your knees to your chest, curled up.
A warm massage helps to relax spasmodic muscles and reduce pain. To massage the abdomen, grapefruit or saffron oil should be used, diluted in slightly warmed massage oil, as they have an antispasmodic effect.
You can drink two valerian tablets or mint tea, spend time at home, in a relaxed atmosphere. This is especially true for women with high levels of anxiety.
When should you immediately go to the doctor’s office?
In no case should you self-medicate if the following situations occur:
Pain in the abdomen is accompanied by an increase in body temperature.
There is a suspicion of pregnancy, but there is bleeding and severe pain.
Previously, during menstruation, a woman did not experience such pain.
In addition to pain, there is profuse bleeding.
Pain in the abdomen is accompanied by vomiting and deterioration of well-being.
If one of the listed phenomena is observed, then it is necessary to call an ambulance, it is not recommended to take any medicines before the doctors arrive.
What should I do if my stomach hurts a lot during menstruation?
To get rid of the pain caused by uterine contractions, you can take drugs to eliminate spasms. They are united by the common name “antispasmodics”. These include: No-shpa, Spazgan, Papaverine. Drugs such as Papaverine and No-shpa can be used even during childbearing. A single dose to eliminate pain during menstrual bleeding is 2 tablets. Multiplicity of reception – 3 times a day.
You can relieve inflammation and reduce pain by taking drugs from the NSAID group. These are medicines: Butadione, Ibuprofen, Nise, Ketanov. It should be taken into account that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs irritate the intestinal and stomach mucosa, so before taking them, you need to make sure that there are no contraindications.
When menstrual pains were provoked by increased emotional stress or neurotic disorders, sedatives can be taken. An excellent option is Valerian Root Extract in the form of tablets, or in the form of an alcohol tincture. Non-herbal preparations with a sedative effect are Trioxazine and Relanium.
To correct pain during menstruation caused by hormonal disorders, it is possible to take oral contraceptives. It is impossible to choose the drug on your own before starting treatment, you need to undergo an examination. The most commonly prescribed oral contraceptives are: Yarina, Triziston, Ovidon, Diane-35, Anteovin, Dufaston.
To support your body and help it cope more easily with any diseases, you need to eat right. It is from food that all vitamins and microelements are absorbed in full. However, sometimes doctors may recommend taking vitamin-mineral complexes in tablets. Often, the female body needs calcium, the assimilation of which is impossible without vitamin D3 (Calcium D3), it is possible to compensate for the deficiency of B vitamins by taking Magne B6. It is not superfluous for a woman to take vitamin E.
Abdominal pain during menstruation should not be tolerated. You need to contact a specialist and find out the cause of its occurrence. If any deviations in health have not been found, then you can simply take a pill that eliminates the spasm and try to relax as much as possible. In all other cases, treatment should not be delayed.