Painful Period Remedies
In part 1 of the Painful Periods topic, you learned what primary dysmenorrhea is, that it’s not normal, and what causes the pain and heavy bleeding. You also learned about 4 pillars of health to address in order to help reduce these symptoms.
Now, I’ll discuss additional techniques you can use to help you remedy the pain. Some of these are quick techniques to provide immediate relief, but also try to use these regularly.
Establishing good habits and practices will help you in the long run. Remember, health isn’t developed overnight!
What can I do to help remedy menstrual pain?
1. Practice Mindfulness
Slow down, listen to your body, and be aware of the present moment. Mindfulness can be a simple yet deeply powerful practice, and when done consistently and with intention, can decrease your body’s overall stress response.
Try listening to a meditation or attending a yoga class. The key is to choose something that you enjoy. Check out my resources on mindfulness.
2. Self-release techniques and stretches to help relax the pelvic floor
a. Hip flexor release:
Releasing the hip flexor muscles can help reduce tension in your pelvis.
Find a small ball, either a lacrosse, tennis, and air ball. I use my Rad ball.
Locate the bony part in front of your hip. Roll your fingers just inside of this bony part into your abdomen. This is your iliacus (one of your hip flexors). Place the ball here into this space.
Roll onto your belly and keep the ball here. Breathe into the ball and let the muscle relax, usually 60-90 seconds.
Disclaimer: Do not perform this technique if you’re pregnant or suspect you’re pregnant.
Perform a light hip flexor stretch:
Kneel on the floor with one knee on the ground, and one foot up in front.
Tuck your butt under and gently push your hips forward. You should feel the stretch through the front of the thigh (of the leg with knee down) and through abdomen. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Repeat stretch on each leg 2-3 times.
Or lie on your back on a bed or couch, and hug one leg, allowing the other leg to hang off the side of the furniture. This is called the modified Thomas stretch.
b. Pelvic floor release:
Find a hard chair to sit in. Reach under your butt, under your pelvis and use your fingers to identify your ischial tuberosity (aka sit bone).
Place the lacrosse ball in the soft tissue just inside of the bone where the soft tissue is. You should not be ON the bone. You should feel soft tissue, just to the inside of where you have a bowel movement.
You have a muscle here called the levator ani, which can get tight and contribute to increased tension in the pelvic floor and contribute to pain, incontinence, or constipation.
Find where it feels tight or tender, and sit on the ball there for about 90 seconds are until you feel it release. Repeat on other side.
Perform one or two yoga poses, including down dog or child’s pose, making sure to open your pelvic floor to the sky. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Breathe! Repeat 2-3 times.
Disclaimer: Do not perform this technique if you’re pregnant or suspect you’re pregnant.
c. Gluteal release:
Lie on your back with both knees bent. Cross one ankle over the opposite knee.
Place the lacrosse ball under the gluteal muscle of the leg that is up. Gently roll around until you find where it is tight or tender. Hold for 90 seconds or until you feel the glute muscle release.
You may repeat in different places throughout the glute, but be careful to not push too hard. If you start to getting numbness or tingling, you may be pressing on your sciatic nerve. Simply move off of it.
Repeat the release on the other side.
d. Gluteal stretch
Piriformis or Figure 4 stretch:
Perform a piriformis or figure 4 stretch after releasing your gluteals to give them a gentle stretch.
Cross one ankle over the opposite knee, and either pull you knee toward your chest or push it away. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Repeat 2-3 times on each side.
Pigeon pose stretch:
Begin on your hands and knees. Bring one leg in front between your hands, slightly rotating that foot in at a 45 degree angle. Set your opposite leg back.
Keep your chest up and imagine sitting back into that glute, keeping your hips facing square. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute. Repeat 2-3 times on each side.
Hip mobilization
If you have mobilization bands available to you, you can do a self-distraction hip mobilization.
By gently tractioning the hip from the socket, you create space in the joint, which allows your nervous system to relax the surrounding muscles.
Begin on both hands and feet. Tie the band about 1 foot off the round onto a solid pole. Step inside the band with one leg and place the band on your thigh, up high in the groin.
Move away from the pole until the band is taut and at a 45 degree angle behind you. Return to your hands and knees.
Gently rock away and forward until you feel a slight comfortable pull in your hip. Rock back and forth 15 times.
Repeat on other side. Discontinue if you feel any tingling in your leg.
3. Find a physical therapist or massage therapist that is trained in myofascial release
This a gentle, hands-on treatment technique aimed to reduce restrictions in the muscles and fascia of the body. [1] It addresses trigger points and muscular guarding. This technique allows the body to release stored trauma and move more fluidly and efficiently.
Myofascial release is especially good for anyone that has had surgeries, including abdominal surgeries. I love using this technique with my patients. Check out future blog posts for further information on myofascial release.
4. Breathing techniques
There are many different breathing techniques out there that are used for different purposes. Here, I will discuss one simple one called diaphragmatic breathing with 4-7-8 count.
This technique is helpful to calm the nervous system. You use your diaphragm (the dome shaped muscle responsible for automatic breathing) to move air in and out of your lungs.
Lie on your back with your knees bent. Put one hand on your chest and the other hand on your stomach. Breathe normally and feel how your stomach and chest both rise and fall.
Take a deep breath in. You should notice that your stomach rises before your chest.
Many people use the muscles in their chest to breathe, so their chest will rise first. In order for the diaphragm to engage, you must feel the belly rise FIRST.
Take another deep breath in through your NOSE while silently counting to 4 seconds. Hold your breath at the top for 7 seconds. Blow out through your MOUTH for 8 seconds.
Repeat 10 times. This technique may be difficulty when first learning. Keep practicing daily. Begin with a minute and build up to 5 or 10 minutes.
5. Jin Shin Jyutsu energy holds:
Jin Shin Jyutsu is an ancient Japanese practice intended to help rebalance the body’s energy. Energy work is subtle. Be patient and consistent with these techniques. Sometimes it is difficult for people to notice any shifts in energy initially.
There are specific holds used to address menstrual cramps. You can even practice them when you are doubled over in pain lying in bed.
Complete one or more holds for 3-5 minutes or longer, or until a slight pulse is felt underneath your fingers. They are as follows:
a. SEL 5: Underneath the inner ankle, between the bone and heel, take 2-3 fingers and hold each ankle.
b. SEL 13: In the front of the chest, near the top of the breast, underneath the third rib, take 2-3 fingers and hold.
c. With one hand, gently hug your opposite thumb and hold for 3-5 minutes. Then repeat on your index finger, then middle finger.
6. Modalities:
a. TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is a passive modality that may help in reducing the perception of pain. These units can be portable, and they have electrode pads that you stick to your skin.
TENS provides a tingling sensation and is worn for 15-20 minutes to help interrupt the pain cycle. The pads can be placed over the back or legs, but do not place over the abdomen.
b. Infrared light is an invisible spectrum of light that penetrates deeply into the body and has been shown to have many positive health benefits, including improving blood flow and reducing inflammation.
You can put the infrared light 6 inches to 2 feet away from your abdomen for 5-15 minutes, depending on the intensity of the light.
Infrared lamps can get extremely hot, so be careful not to burn yourself.
c. Epsom salt baths can be used to induce relaxation and reduce tension. You can dissolve 1 to 2 cups of this into the bathtub and soak for 20 minutes.
Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, which gets back to the discussion on the effects of magnesium under the hydration section in my previous blog.
Do not use these modalities if you know or suspect you are pregnant!
7. Acupuncture:
Acupuncture is a technique that comes from traditional Chinese medicine. The intention is to harmonize the flow of life force (qi) within and create balance of yin and yang within an individual, which is done by inserting thin needles into specific meridian points throughout the body.
Acupuncture can be used to treat primary dysmenorrhea and other menstrual symptoms, such as dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and gastrointestinal issues. [2, 3]
There is hope of survival during shark week! In fact, I wish you to not only survive, but further thrive. Misery loves company, but don’t fall prey to that cult! When women lift each other up, we only grow stronger. So rise up, educate yourself, explore, ask questions, and make each day worth living.
Live in peace, Ali
Disclaimer: This blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only and is not considered medical advice.
References:
1. Khan, S. ., Ihsan, S., Sehgal, S. ., Hashmi, A. ., Neelam Muneeb, H. ., Alias Akash, N. K. ., & Faizan Hamid, M. . (2022). Effects of Myofascial Release Versus Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises in Women with Primary Dysmenorrhea: Myofascial Release versus Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercises in Primary Dysmenorrhea. Pakistan BioMedical Journal, 5(5). https://doi.org/10.54393/pbmj.v5i5.471
2. Shetty GB, Shetty B, Mooventhan A. Efficacy of Acupuncture in the Management of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2018;11(4):153-158. doi:10.1016/j.jams.2018.04.001
3. Woo HL, Ji HR, Pak YK, et al. The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in women with primary dysmenorrhea: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018;97(23):e11007. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000011007
