3 Practices for Menstrual Cramps
Usha Anandi. 24 | NOVEMBER | 2022
“Welcome to being a woman”, my mother said to me after finding me curled up in pain in my bed. I was 15, it was a frosty winter morning, and my period cramps were unbearable.
After teaching menstrual cycle education to over 25,000 people globally, here’s what I can say: my mom isn’t the only one who believes having a period is synonymous with living with pain.
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Okay, back to the story… We live in a world that is terribly comfortable with normalizing women’s pain, especially when it comes to our periods.
Period pain, also called dysmenorrhea, is indeed common.
A study of 408 women done in 2010 at the University of Modena reported 84.1% of women reported period pain with 43.1% reported during every period and 41% reported it happens during just some periods.
Before we dive in, there’s one important thing about period pain that I want you to remember: while all period pain may seem the same, it’s not. For example, one person may be suffering from period pain due to excess heat, where another may have pain due to stagnation caused by cold.
For this reason, it’s important not to ignore period pain or just chalk it up to the curse of being a woman. If you’re having period pain, trust that it’s your body communicating with you and calling you forth into deeper balance.
Full transparency and disclaimer here: I’m not a Doctor, and I have no plan to become one. And although I’m an herbalist, I’m not your herbalist.
This resource is educational only and is not to be used as a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment from an experienced medical practitioner.
One last thing I want to say before we get into it: because dysmenorrhea can be caused by a number of different root imbalances according to Eastern medicine (thank you Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine), it’s important to remember that not all of the options listed below may work for you.
Usually if one finds relief from a specific technique, there will be an immediate sense of “ahhh” in the body, akin to the letting go that happens when you exhale. If period pain gets worse using any of these techniques, one should discontinue use immediately.
Thanks for reading. I’m always in conversation with myself about ways to share these tools with the most integrity, and those notes felt important to say. Now yippee, onto the three practices!
1. Apply Pressure
- Who pressure is for: those with dizziness, feelings of tiredness, pale blood or scanty blood, with period pain that is dull and achy that can extend to the low back, or period pain that arrives towards the end of the period.
Application of pressure is obviously not for those who feel protective of their bellies i.e. “don’t touch my belly!” during the period (if you have this, keep reading to #3).
Sometimes those who experience this type of pain may also be supported with a combination of using both pressure and heat. For more information on application of heat for dysmenorrhea, keep reading.
Applying pressure may be supportive for those who are experiencing dysmenorrhea due to deficiency patterns, whether it’s deficiency in one or multiple organs, deficiency of blood, or deficiency of overall energy in the body.
Because this kind of pain is due to deficiency, it may also show up after the first few days of bleeding as the deficiency could be worsened by the loss of blood.
Remember: application of pressure is just one way to support period pain, and it’s not for everyone depending on the root cause of their period pain.
If application of pressure worsens period pain, one should discontinue immediately (and keep reading, because other options are mentioned in this blog!).
One way to use pressure as support for period pain:
🔸 Use the weight of your own body in a yoga asana (posture). I explain how to set yourself up in a balasana (child’s pose) in the video below.
2. Apply Heat
- Who application of heat is for: those with intense, stabbing pain before or during the period, also those with lower abdominal pain and/or sore back before or after the period, there may also be aversions to cold and feelings of mental restlessness. Not for those with burning sensations in the uterus that extend down to the low back (i.e. signs of excess heat).
Our bodies and our organs are impacted by the environment we live in. When Cold penetrates our outer layers of protection and invades our body, it can relate to challenges like period pain.
When Cold in the uterus is present, it can cause stagnation due to cold as well as stagnant blood, both can present a little bit differently in the body, but both are often supported by the application of heat as it helps get rid of the excess cold, opens the blood vessels, and promotes new blood flow to the uterus which can help clear stagnation which in turn offers pain relief.
Remember: application of heat is just one way to support period cramps, and it’s not for everyone depending on the root cause of their period pain. If application of heat made your period pain worse, keep reading as there are other options mentioned below.
Two ways to use heat for period pain support:
🔸 Hot Water Bottle
Boil 2 – 3 cups of water and pour into a hot water bottle like this one here. To avoid burns, always place a small towel, t-shirt, or blanket in between the hot water bottle and the skin especially towards the beginning of use when the water is extremely hot, or get yourself a fancy cover like this one (which I just found out existed thanks to writing this blog!).
Reheat the water and use it as many times, or as long as you need for relief.
🔸 Microwavable rice pack
My personal favorite way to apply heat to the uterus is by using a microwavable rice pack. It’s the only thing I use my microwave for! Pop a pack like this one into the microwave for 2ish minutes and place on the uterus area or low back for relief.
These packs are great as gifts for postpartum mothers too to help keep their uteruses warm and promote healing.
3. Application of cold
- Who application of cold is for: those who experience pain before or during their periods, burning sensations in the womb area, pain aggravated by heat, feelings of heat with thirst, and bright red blood. Not for those with sensations of coldness, dizziness, or dull pain in the abdomen or low back
While period cramps can be caused from Cold, they can also be caused from excess Heat!
As one gets deeper into the reasons for period cramps, it’s easy to see why the western medicine approach of a one-pill-cures-all can seriously miss the mark when it comes to understanding the different root conditions that can cause dysmenorrhea.
Remember: application of cold is just one way to support period pain, and it’s not for everyone depending on the root cause of their period pain.
Ways to apply cold:
Integrate cooling herbs and eliminate heating foods
Teas of motherwort, salvia, or vervain may be great allies here (remember to always check with an experienced herbalist before use).
🔸 Cold pack on the lower abdomen
Take a small towel, wet it with some water, place in the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes and then lay it on your womb area. Take deep breaths, with every breath, notice if you feel the heat cooling down and your body returning to calm.
Focus on Prevention
Oh, you thought we were done… but I’m coming at you with one bonus practice! (My nerdy self just couldn’t resist!).
It wouldn’t be a true Womben Wellness blog if I didn’t mention both sacred (thank you to Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda for so much of the wisdom in this blog post), but now it’s time to look at some of the scientific research on remedies for dysmenorrhea according to a western approach.
This study was small and only included 60 participants, but it was a double-blind placebo controlled trial, so I’m going to mention it anyway. The findings showed magnesium’s potential efficacy and reducing period cramps.
Magnesium stearate supplementation was taken by participants at both 150mg and 300mg levels and although both reduced period cramps, the 300mg dosage was much more effective.
If you’re looking for a double whammy of period cramp and mood swing relief, this study shows that magnesium supplementation combined with vitamin B6 is more effective at targeting mood swings than just magnesium supplementation alone.
Remember that you can find naturally occurring magnesium in these foods as well:
Stinging nettle (urtica dioica)
Avocados
Almonds
Black beans
Quinoa
Dark chocolate – oh yeah!
Curious to learn more about your menstrual cycle? I tell you everything you need to know to get started in my Power of the Period Workshop.
The best part? You can access the information for $0.
