Dysmenorrhea is a fairly common problem in women of reproductive age, especially in the early stages after puberty. Because of its high prevalence, many women consider it a non-disturbing part of menstruation and does not require specific treatment. However, it is not as simple as you think. Read the article below to learn more about this problem and the treatment that is right for you!

What is menstrual cramps?

Dysmenorrhea is the term for cramping and cramping pain in the lower abdomen, which can spread to the back, thighs and legs. Usually appears before and during a woman's menstrual period.

Menstrual pain is divided into two types:

• Primary pain: Pain that recurs during each menstrual period and is not caused by medical conditions. 
• Secondary pain: Pain related to diseases that directly affect the reproductive tract in women. 

Why do women have menstrual cramps?

In general, hormonal imbalance in the female body is the main cause of menstrual cramps. They can originate from physiological changes that occur during menstruation (primary) or from disorders and infections in the reproductive organs (secondary).

Causes of primary dysmenorrhea

Menstruation is essentially the shedding of the endometrial layer that has thickened during the first part of the cycle to prepare for possible pregnancy. When pregnancy does not occur, this lining is shed by uterine contractions, activated by prostaglandins. 

In some women with higher than normal prostaglandin levels, uterine contractions become stronger, thereby causing severe pain.

Causes of secondary dysmenorrhea

Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by one or more diseases related to the reproductive tract, some common diseases include:

• Endometrial optimism
• Endometrial polyps
• Fibroids
• Cervical stenosis
• Pelvic inflammation

Menstrual pain and symptoms

Typical symptoms of menstrual cramps are severe pain in the lower abdomen. The pain will be proportional to the degree of uterine contraction. In some women, the severity of abdominal pain is equivalent to breaking multiple ribs at the same time.

With primary pain, the pain usually appears 1 day before menstruation, lasts from 8 to 72 hours, and tends to gradually improve over time and after childbirth. On the other hand, contrary to primary pain, secondary pain will last more than 3 days, depending on the cause, it tends to become more serious with age, can lead to intermenstrual bleeding, menorrhagia, even infertility.

In addition, this condition is also accompanied by other unpleasant symptoms such as:

• Nausea
• Fatigue, headache, dizziness
• Diarrhea or constipation depends on each person's condition

Therefore, dysmenorrhea adversely affects women's quality of life, work performance, as well as mental and physical health. As many as 33% women reported that their pain was so severe that they were unable to participate in daily activities and enjoy life for several days each month.

Effective treatment of menstrual cramps

One of the important factors in choosing the right treatment for dysmenorrhea is to find out whether they actually stem from a primary or secondary cause. However, hormone supplementation is still a measure recommended by many experts in addition to lifestyle changes before drug treatment.

Build a healthy lifestyle

• A nutritious and varied diet Carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats are essential to keeping your period regular and reducing period cramps. In addition, supplementing foods containing phytoestrogen such as soybeans, oats, almonds, walnuts... is also very beneficial.
• Exercise regularly has the effect of stimulating blood flow to the pelvis and releasing endorphins to effectively relieve pain, significantly improving pain in the lower abdomen.
• Relieve menstrual cramps at home Drinking warm water and applying hot compresses is a popular and quite effective method, especially for women with mild to moderate pain.

• Some alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage... can help relieve pain through many different effects. However, scientific research on their effectiveness is still quite limited.

Additional products

• Nutritional supplement products such as fish oil, thiamin, pyridoxine and magnesium have been fully scientifically recognized to be effective in reducing severe menstrual cramps.
• Phytoestrogen supplements như libifem, dầu hoa hồng, nhân sâm… chứa các hợp chất có nguồn gốc thực vật mang hoạt tính của estrogen, do đó góp phần quan trọng trong cân bằng nội tiết tố, giảm đau hiệu quả các cơn đau bụng trước và trong kỳ kinh nguyệt. Đặc biệt, chị em có thể sử dụng TPBVSK LadySavior, chứa tới 200mg Libifem với hàm lượng cao nhất trên thị trường, cân bằng nội tiết tố giúp hạn chế các cơn co thắt, giảm đau bụng kinh

Specific treatment methods

• Medicine: Mainly used to treat symptoms, maybe pain relievers like ibuprofen... or birth control pills. In addition, doctors may also prescribe medication to control and treat the underlying cause for cases of abdominal pain with secondary causes.

• Surgery: Necessary for women with severe pain due to endometriosis or uterine fibroids, usually excess excision or growth suppression, severe cases may require hysterectomy,

Many women often accept dysmenorrhea as an indispensable part of menstruation without knowing that they also need treatment. Obviously, this problem can be prevented and improved if you understand them and listen to your body. Take action now to improve your health and quality of life!

If you have any questions, please pick up the phone and contact us immediately via Hotline 0936.236.283 or leave a question here to receive answers and advice from Atlantic Medical's pharmacists.

Wishing you and your family good health and quality life!