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Dysmenorrhea, or menstrual cramps, are sharp or stabbing pains in the lower abdomen. Before and during their periods, many women experience dysmenorrhea. Recurrent pain is referred to as primary dysmenorrhea, whereas reproductive system issues are the cause of secondary dysmenorrhea.
Some women may only find the discomfort irritating. Others may experience menstrual cramps that are so bad that they prevent them from going about their normal lives for a few days each month.
Dysmenorrhea can be brought on by conditions like uterine fibroids or endometriosis. The key to minimizing pain is to treat the underlying cause. When they are not brought on by another illness, menstrual cramps often become better with age and often stop altogether after delivering birth.
Symptoms
Symptoms of menstrual cramps include:
- Pain that begins one to three days before to your menstruation, peaks 24 hours after it begins, and goes away in two to three days
- A severe, throbbing, or cramping ache in your lower abdomen
- Feeling of having abdominal pressure
- Your thighs and lower back are both in pain.
- Continuously dull pain
These symptoms may show experience in some women:
- Feeling dizzy
- Headache
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
If dysmenorrhea is already affecting your life each month, the symptoms have worsen or it just started after 25 years of age; consult your doctor.
Causes
Your uterus contracts during your menstrual cycle to aid in the expulsion of its lining. The uterine muscles contract as a result of hormone-like molecules (prostaglandins) involved in pain and inflammation. More severe menstrual cramps are linked to higher prostaglandin levels.
Menstrual cramps may result from:
- Endometriosis. Outside of the uterus, a tissue that functions somewhat like the lining of the uterus grows most frequently on the fallopian tubes, ovaries, or the tissue lining your pelvis.
- Uterine fibroids. These are benign tumors that form on the uterine wall and might hurt.
- Adenomyosis. The lining of your uterus starts to integrate with the uterine muscles.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease. The infection that cause this illness of the female reproductive system are typically transferred sexually.
- Cervical stenosis. In some women, the cervix’s opening is so narrow that it prevents menstruation from flowing, painfully raising the pressure inside the uterus.
Risk factors
These are the risk factors which lead to dysmenorrhea:
- Age younger than 30 years old
- Early puberty (11 years or younger)
- Heavy menstrual period (menorrhagia)
- Irregular menstruation (metrorrhagia)
- Family history of dysmenorrhea
- Smoking
Diagnosis
Your doctor will review your medical history and do a physical examination, which will include a pelvic exam. Your doctor then examines your pelvis to search for any abnormalities in the reproductive organs as well as any indications of infection.
Additionally, your healthcare practitioner can advise getting tests like:
- Ultrasound. This test makes an image of your uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries using sound waves.
- Other imaging tests. An ultrasound doesn’t offer as much detail as a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, which might aid your doctor in identifying underlying issues.
With a CT scan, several X-ray images are combined to create cross-sectional images of your body’s bones, organs, and other soft tissues.
A strong magnetic field and radio waves are used in MRI scan to create precise images of interior structures. Both exams are painless and non-invasive.
- Laparoscopy. Laparoscopy can assist identify an underlying problem, such as endometriosis, adhesions, fibroids, ovarian cysts, and ectopic pregnancy, even though it is typically not required to diagnose menstrual pains. An outpatient surgery where your doctor will make a few tiny incisions in your belly and insert a fiber-optic tube with a tiny camera lens to view observe your reproductive organs and abdominal cavity.
Treatment
Your doctor may suggest the following to relieve your period cramps:
- Pain relievers. The day before you anticipate the start of your period, start taking regular doses of ibuprofen or naproxen sodium to ease pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications are also offered with a prescription.
Beginning at the start of your period or as soon as you experience symptoms, take the pain reliever as prescribed for the next two to three days, or until the pain is gone.
- Hormonal birth control. Hormones found in oral birth control pills stop ovulation and lessen the severity of menstrual cramps. Other methods of delivering these hormones include injections, skin patches, arm implants, flexible vaginal rings, skin implants under the skin, and intrauterine devices (IUD).
- Surgery. Surgery to treat the condition that is causing your period cramps, such as endometriosis or fibroids, may relieve your symptoms. Having your uterus surgically removed may be a possibility if you do not plan a pregnancy or alternative treatments have not worked.
