Pain during menstruation

Pain during menstruation, especially severe pain, is not normal. Putting up with pain, relying only on the power of painkillers and waiting out the unfavorable moment is not the best solution. The most correct step should be considered a full and prompt examination by a gynecologist, which will answer the main question, revealing the true cause of the pain.

A normal menstrual cycle in a healthy woman's body occurs with minor symptoms of malaise, which is associated with a natural restructuring of the hormonal background. Mood swings and a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen may occur. Minor pain before menstruation and (or) on its first day is acceptable. Any increase in pain indicates the presence of some kind of obstruction to the outflow of menstrual blood from the uterine cavity, or a spasm formed in the muscles of the uterine walls.

The occurrence of sharp pains, capable of leading to loss of consciousness, accompanied by severe nausea, sometimes turning into vomiting, an increase in body temperature, leads to a disorder of the emotional background. The expectation of each menstrual cycle occurs against the background of constant stress. All this can adversely affect the general health of a woman and lead to the development of all kinds of pathologies, including those of a psychoneurological nature.

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Why does pain occur during menstruation?

There may be many reasons for this phenomenon. The initial reason, which most scientists and doctors point to, is the increased content of specific female hormones – prostaglandins. Then there are reasons such as:

• short or insufficient luteal phase;
• enzymatic dysfunction of the endometrium, leading to a violation of the rejection of the mucous membrane from the walls of the uterus;
• low pain threshold, at which any pain during menstruation is perceived as a strong irritant.

All the reasons described are most characteristic of primary dysmenorrhea. Among the reasons for secondary dysmenorrhea are:

• anatomical pathologies of the uterus, including fibroids, adenomyosis;
• all inflammatory processes in the pelvic organs;
• adhesions in the abdominal cavity and pelvic cavity that occur after surgical interventions;
• varicose veins of the deep pelvic veins;
• use of intrauterine contraceptives;
• congenital pathologies of genital development;

Pain during menstruation and its types

In different sources there are several names that characterize pain during menstruation - dysmenorrhea and algomenorrhea. The difference between these two terms is in the intensity of the pain syndrome and the degree of its manifestation. With dysmenorrhea, pain sensations take place and are quite tolerable. While with algomenorrhea, on the contrary, pain during menstruation is completely unbearable, leading to temporary disability, up to loss of consciousness. Dysmenorrhea, in turn, is divided into primary, which is characteristic only of women who have not given birth, it is associated (mainly) with hormonal and enzymatic imbalance, and secondary dysmenorrhea. Secondary dysmenorrhea implies the presence of diseases or pathological processes occurring in the pelvic organs and is their consequence, it is eliminated only by completely curing the underlying disease.

How to recognize and treat menstrual pain?

At home, it is possible to achieve only temporary relief of pain syndrome by taking painkillers or antispasmodic drugs. The root cause can only be identified and eliminated by resorting to the help of a gynecologist. Examination of the pelvic organs using ultrasound methods in most cases makes it possible to identify disorders and establish the correct diagnosis. If this method is insufficient, diagnostic laparoscopic methods can be used.

The results of biochemical and clinical blood tests also provide information about the woman's health. Most often, it is necessary to take a blood test for the main hormones. This type of analysis is carried out on a certain day of the cycle, which falls on the 5th-7th menstrual day.

Hormonal imbalance is leveled relatively easily and in the time period takes little time. By taking special drugs, under constant control of blood test indicators, the necessary correction is carried out, as a result of which the natural hormonal background inherent in this woman is restored and pain during menstruation, which was the cause of hormonal imbalance, is eliminated.

Other types of treatment depend on the underlying causes of menstrual pain. If these are pathological neoplasms in the uterine cavity or other pelvic organs, they should be removed surgically. In the case of inflammatory processes, the pain will go away after the inflammation has been completely removed. However, one should not exclude the possibility that minor pain will become a constant companion of each menstrual cycle. There are diseases, such as endometriosis, that are difficult to cure. In such cases, in addition to treating the underlying disease, constant use of painkillers is necessary.

In any case, no matter what causes pain during menstruation, it is easier and more reliable to deal with it together with a gynecologist.