Painful periods are sometimes considered normal. Statistics say that 10-15% regularly experience severe pain during menstruation, and up to 70% of women of childbearing age periodically experience it. In fact, this is not the norm, but a violation of menstrual function, by correcting which you can get rid of pain.
The pain is not always localized in the lower abdomen. It can radiate to the lower back or pelvis
Symptoms
The main symptom of illness is cramping, aching, stabbing or other type of pain in the lower abdomen. It can radiate to the lower back, pelvis, perineum, and inner thighs. Most often, the peak of pain occurs in the first days of the cycle, then the intensity of the pain decreases.
Associated symptoms:
- general malaise, loss of interest in the outside world, decreased performance;
- nausea, diarrhea, other digestive problems;
- sudden mood changes, irritability, sleep disturbances, headaches;
- sweating, rapid heartbeat.
Painful periods often cause headaches
Menopause and menstruation
Pain in the maple tree is one of the manifestations of menopause.
If the hormonal storms of adolescents are associated with the formation of femininity, then mature women are destined to experience many unpleasant moments in connection with the restructuring of the body to complete the childbearing period. The situation when knees hurt during menstruation is one of the manifestations of menopause.
During premenopause, menstruation becomes more abundant and their regularity becomes less regular. All signs of PMS intensify, heaviness appears throughout the body, fatigue, and aching sensations in the legs are added. If the cause of such sensations is only hormonal changes, then during the period of entering the postmenopausal period, the pain in the legs subsides along with the subsidence of menstruation.
The question is different: during this period, more than ever, joint diseases in women, associated with the restructuring of the functioning of the entire body, become more acute. This is the time when a woman needs a complete change in habits, sleep and rest patterns, nutrition, and regular physical activity.
The cause of sore legs during or before menstruation should be determined together with a doctor - in some cases, this condition may signal the onset of serious pathologies in bone tissue.
Causes of painful menstruation
Depending on the reasons that cause painful periods (scientifically called algomenorrhea), doctors divide them into 2 types - primary and secondary algomenorrhea.
Primary algomenorrhea is spoken of when a reliable organic cause of painful menstruation is not identified during the examination. Its main causes are instability in the level of sex hormones and hormone-like substances and disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system. At this time, the contractility of the uterine muscle increases, as a result of which the uterine vessels are compressed, and the tissues do not receive sufficient nutrition. As a result, pain occurs. At the same time, due to malfunctions of the nervous system, sensitivity to pain increases, forcing patients to take painkillers. Primary algomenorrhea is most often observed in young girls who have just begun to establish their menstrual cycle. In many cases, a year or two after the first menstruation, when hormonal levels stabilize, the question of what to do with painful periods for a teenager disappears on its own.
Girls are more likely to suffer from pain caused by nerves and hormones
Prostaglandins are hormone-like substances, the imbalance of which is most often the cause of painful periods. In women suffering from primary algomenorrhea, the production of these substances increases significantly by the beginning of the menstrual cycle. Increased contractility of the uterine muscle, which causes pain, is caused precisely by an increased amount of prostaglandins.
- Secondary algomenorrhea occurs due to some disease. Most often, this is inflammation caused by fibroids, endometriosis, trauma, gynecological surgery (cauterization of erosion, cesarean section, excision of fibroids, etc.). The likelihood of developing secondary algomenorrhea increases when using an intrauterine device, abortion, after infectious diseases, or surgical interventions. The stomach begins to hurt 2-3 days before the start of menstruation and stops 2-3 days after their start. Since the main cause of pain does not disappear with the end of menstruation, it recurs periodically throughout the entire cycle. Women over 30 years of age most often suffer from secondary algomenorrhea.
- Another possible cause of painful periods is difficulty clearing the uterine cavity of secretions due to congenital or acquired anatomical features. The most common of them are too narrow cervical canal (congenital), fibroids (acquired). Pain during menstruation can also occur due to the fact that a small amount of blood is thrown into the abdominal cavity through the lumen of the fallopian tubes.
Painful menstruation may be caused by a cervical canal that is too narrow.
Menstrual pain should not be ignored. If the cause that causes them is not eliminated, in addition to unpleasant sensations and the consequences of a possible gynecological disease, you can experience a decrease in sexual desire and even infertility.
Features of adolescence
Knees hurt during menstruation.
In adolescent girls aged 10-12 years, the formation of femininity is associated with the time of physiological growth of the body. Active development of the skeleton and muscles does not always occur simultaneously with the formation of the genital organs.
Knees hurt before menstruation in girls due to poor blood supply to the legs due to an unregulated vascular system. Along with pain, slight numbness may be felt. The growth of the uterus during this period is also not yet complete; it may have bends. Contracting during the menstrual period, the incompletely formed uterus of a teenage girl causes spasmodic pain, radiating throughout the spine and reaching the knees.
The physiological restructuring of adolescence is accompanied by a significant release of hormones and irritation of the nervous system. During menstruation, girls complain of pain throughout the body and dizziness. At night, he twists his joints, especially his legs and knees.
Usually, as you get older and with the beginning of regular sexual activity, the menstrual cycle becomes stable, heavy sensations smooth out, and knee pain goes away.
What to do for pain during menstruation?
Your gynecologist should advise you on what to do if you experience severe pain during menstruation. Contact your doctor without waiting for the start of a new cycle to have time to take the necessary tests, smears, and undergo an ultrasound. The faster the cause of the phenomenon is determined, the faster you can make your life easier.
To reliably find out why painful periods are observed on the first day or throughout menstruation, after a standard examination, the doctor may prescribe:
- laboratory tests (smears);
- hysteroscopy - examination of the uterus with a special optical device that is inserted through the cervix;
- Ultrasound of the pelvic organs;
- diagnostic laparoscopy - examination of the uterus and fallopian tubes, during which an optical device is inserted through small incisions in the abdominal wall;
- hormonal profile study;
- tests for sexually transmitted diseases;
- blood test (checks for anemia).
To find out the cause of painful periods, your doctor may prescribe a hysteroscopy.
In some cases, to make a diagnosis. In addition to the gynecologist, you will have to consult with an endocrinologist and a neurologist. It is possible that you will have to change your method of contraception.
If the cause of painful periods is a gynecological disease, after recovery the pain should go away on its own.
Not only pills help to cope with primary algomenorrhea. Non-drug treatment methods are effective:
- general strengthening of the body: a good night's sleep, balance of physical and emotional stress, proper nutrition, quitting smoking, alcohol, strong tea, coffee;
- hardening, regular exercise (not for athletic performance, but for tone);
- physiotherapy: magnetic therapy, electrophoresis, diadynamics, ultrasound, massage, exercise therapy;
- acupuncture;
- taking courses of vitamins;
- hormone therapy. Combined oral contraceptives are used in low dosages, the intake of which adjusts the body to produce the correct amount of hormones. The minimum course is 3 months.
As an “ambulance”, the doctor may prescribe antispasmodics, analgesics, and sedatives. If the treatment package does not help, you will have to reconsider your contraceptive strategy and use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and progestins.
Malaise and pain during menstruation: only pain relief or treatment?
Most often, gynecologists hear complaints from girls about general malaise and pain before and during menstruation. This condition is called dysmenorrhea - it is a disorder of the menstrual cycle, which is characterized by pain1: pain appears on the first day and can persist throughout menstruation and after it. Attacks of pain exhaust the nervous system, reduce performance, and limit a woman’s usual level of activity.
NOT JUST PAIN.
In addition to the already mentioned pain in the lower abdomen, patients during menstruation are often bothered by other symptoms:
- Emotional and mental disorders - irritability, drowsiness, insomnia, odor intolerance, etc.
- Manifestations of a “vegetative storm” are nausea, chills or a feeling of heat, sweating, dry mouth, bloating, frequent urination, etc.
- Vascular dysfunction - headache, dizziness, arrhythmias, numbness in the arms and legs, swelling of the face, etc.
- Metabolic and endocrine disorders - weakness, itching, joint pain, swelling, feeling of “woolly” legs, etc.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
About 82% of the fair sex experience pain during menstruation. The production of prostaglandins (substances that mediate pain and inflammation), typical before menstruation, significantly increases the contractile activity of the uterus, which causes vasospasm, local circulatory disorders and irritation of nerve endings in the uterine tissue. As a result of all these changes, pain occurs.
The development of dysmenorrhea is often associated with hormonal imbalances, namely an imbalance of sex steroids - estrogen and progesterone, and much more serious conditions - in the second phase of the cycle. However, primary dysmenorrhea can be a sign of abnormal development of the genital organs or gynecological diseases: endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian tumors, pelvic inflammation, pelvic varicose veins, etc.
HOW TO TREAT?
Treatment of dysmenorrhea (dysmenorrhea is a cyclic pathological process in which severe pain in the lower abdomen appears during menstruation) involves a combination of non-drug methods and modern drug therapy. Thus, adequate sleep, physical therapy, and reflexology objectively improve a woman’s condition.
- The leading place in the treatment of dysmenorrhea is occupied by three groups of drugs - gestagens, oral contraceptives and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Progestogens (progesterone and its derivatives) - they enhance the gestagenic “shoulder” of cyclic hormonal fluctuations (mediators of pain and inflammation) and act on the muscular wall of the uterus, reducing its contractile activity and excitability;
- Oral contraceptives - they regulate the frequency and amplitude of uterine contractions, the volume of menstrual flow by suppressing ovulation, which reduces the secretion of prostaglandins by the endometrium. Taking contraceptives reduces the concentration of estrogen and, consequently, the severity of symptoms of dysmenorrhea;
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - they have an analgesic effect and reduce the level of prostaglandins, directly affecting the cause of pain.
However, when treating dysmenorrhea, it is extremely important that its cause is understood - if you mindlessly “absorb analgesics,” this can mask the manifestations of the underlying disease, for example, endometriosis (endometriosis is a common gynecological disease in which endometrial cells (the inner layer of the uterine wall) grow beyond this layer), which must be treated seriously, thoroughly and by completely different means. And only a specialist can correctly understand the situation. By the way, from the point of view of modern medicine, pain during menstruation is not the norm, and its treatment, thoughtful and balanced, is really necessary.
General Tips
Salt baths to relieve swelling
Those who are prone to painful conditions during menstruation, including all age groups, should avoid overload during this period.
- Eliminate heavy, high-calorie foods from your diet and give preference to foods rich in vitamins and minerals.
- Don't overload your feet with high heels.
- Salt baths will help relieve swelling.
- Try to sit or lie down with your legs slightly raised more often.
- Traditional medicine recommends warm cabbage leaf wraps, mint and lemon balm teas to relieve pain.
- In the morning, before getting up, it is useful to bandage your legs with an elastic bandage and apply any ointment with an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect under it.
Medicines to relieve pain should be prescribed by a doctor after consultation; it is quite possible that not just painkillers may be prescribed, but drugs that act on the root cause of the painful condition.
What to do
Heating pad for pain relief
First of all, this is a consultation with a gynecologist. At the appointment, you should describe in as much detail as possible the nature of the pain in the knees, the time (before, after or during menstruation, the knees ache), and the frequency of attacks. What will the doctor do?
First of all, he will do all kinds of procedures to determine the state of women's health. If the question “why” remains open to the gynecologist, he will give a referral for examination by other doctors.
Modern medicine has in its arsenal effective ways to alleviate women’s period of menstruation; only for the correct formulation the cause of the ailment must be determined.