When having a period, you have to face quite a lot troubles. As usual, during two weeks before the period, the body of the woman will experience a change in biological mechanisms. Some common symptoms are headaches, excessive sensitivity, breast tenderness and sleepiness, cramps and stomach ache. This article will show you how to deal with cramps before period.
Causes of cramps before and during the period
Along with a range of unpleasant symptoms, some girls experience cramping during their period. Cramps before the period are due to normal contractions of the uterus. Most of the girls have no awareness of the exact time that the contractions will come. In fact, it may attack them at any time. During the period, uterine contractions usually become stronger, causing the pain. Uterine contractions lead to a tardy blood supply to the uterus, taking oxygen away from the uterine muscles; thus, intense pains grow stronger. This phenomenon is caused by prostaglandin – a natural substance of the body that causes uterine contractions.
Cramps before period often occur in the abdomen and lower back, sometimes it even spreads to both legs. Although the pain will quickly disappear, it leaves you pains and extremely uneasy feelings. As a result, you are advised to take advantage of the following measures to reduce uncomfortable cramps before and during the period.
Useful tips to relieve cramps before period
- Stop drinking milk during the period
A diet can have a bad impact on your body during the period. Quite a few experts advise women to reduce the consumption of the amount of milk to minimize the risk of cramping and the distension of the stomach. You should also avoid greasy foods when having a period.
In addition, eating plenty of vegetables and fruits, as a way to provide more fibers for the body, and drinking a lot of water is the simplest way to lower the excess amount of estrogen in the body. Estrogen is the hormone that prolongs your period; consequently, the symptoms like cramps and distension will continue to stick to you.
- Supplement your diet with vitamins and minerals
Some science researchers show that vitamin E, thiamine (vitamin B1) and omega-3 are useful for relieving pains and period cramps.
Zinc and calcium are also effective in improving this condition. However, you are not encouraged to drink milk.
Besides, calcium and manganese are able to alleviate muscle aches. To have the expected results, you need to consume them regularly for two to three consecutive months.
- Take advice from the doctor
It is not an alarming issue if you sometimes have abdominal pains or cramps during the period. However, if this state constantly disturbs you and increasingly becomes serious, it is best to see a doctor. The reason is that these symptoms may be a sign of anemia, more worryingly, endometriosis or uterine fibroids. With these serious conditions, early diagnosis and proper treatment will be good for your reproductive system.
- Take painkiller as soon as the period comes
After the health examination, if it is confirmed that your abdominal pain or cramps are not a symptom of a serious illness, you should ask your doctor for certain painkillers. You can start taking medication as soon as the menstrual cycle begins to relieve the pain and the discomfort it brings to your body.
- Use oral contraceptive pills
This way sounds irrational but in reality, oral contraceptive pills contain the hormones that can prevent ovulation and reduce abdominal pain or cramps in the menstrual cycle.
You can also use non-hormonal contraceptive methods that have the same operating mechanism as oral contraceptive pills.
However, you need to note that when you stop using these contraceptives, cramps will come back and even become more severe than before.
- Change lying posture
Sometimes changing lying posture can also help you feel more comfortable everywhen abdominal pains or cramps occur. Instead of lying on your back, you should lie on your side and bend your body like a shrimp with your legs moving close to the stomach or lying on your front. In case you lie on your back, you should place your feet on a pillow. This posture can also help you to go through the pain more lightly.
- Apply hot compresses to the abdomen
A range of therapy treatments is scientifically demonstrated to minimize cramps during the period. One of the most popular methods is applying hot compresses to the abdomen. The hot temperature from the compresses even brings more effects than painkillers because it has the ability to relax tense muscles. It is suggested to put hot compresses on your lower abdomen. Besides, you need to spend time taking a rest and unwinding to alleviate the pains and cramps.
- Take moderate exercise
Quite a few people tend to refrain from exercising during these days with the thought that it can aggravate their abdominal pains and cramps. But this concept is not totally true. You should take some exercise even in the menstrual cycle because it is the simplest way to get rid of the trouble that you are facing.
You can go for a walk, run small steps on the treadmill, ride a bicycle around the house or do some other exercise. Exercising can increase blood flow to the body organs and helps to eliminate cramps and pains.
- Use long-term supporting measures
In addition, you can also choose to take other supporting measures such as acupuncture, yoga, massage or meditation to relieve stress. All of them are useful for reducing cramps and dysmenorrhea. Acupuncture has been used as an effective analgesic method for over 2,000 years. Yoga and meditation help to enhance the brain health and blood circulation. Besides, massage is a good way to relieve pain and offer you some relaxation. Nevertheless, these are all long-term supporting measures; therefore, you have to be patient if choosing them.
- Massage the affected area with essential oils
According to some researchers on Journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research in 2012, the use of essential oils supports to ease cramps. 48 women who were suffering the symptoms of the period used essential oils or synthetic fragrances to massage their lower abdomen. They used a diluted mixture of lavender, common sage, and balm in the proportion of 2:1:1. These essential oils are diluted with the concentration of 3% in an odorless cream. The result shows that the group that used essential oils had the pain relieved considerably.
- Drink tea
Some kinds of tea are able to alleviate cramps before and during the period. Drinking tea is regarded as an effective home remedy.
In fact, some types of leaves play a role as estrogen. For certainty, you can consult a doctor, especially when you had hormonal cancer or used blood-thinning medicine before.
In case you are taking diuretic medicine for high blood pressure or lithium, you are advised to take advice from a doctor.
In conclusion, cramps before period and many other unpleasant symptoms always bring the uncomfortable feelings to many women. If you often have to suffer from these symptoms, it is recommended to try the methods above. It is believed that they will help you to escape from the terrible pains.
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