Pain is one of the common symptoms that accompany menstruation. It is so frequent that many consider its appearance inevitable and dutifully endure discomfort without going to the doctor for help even if it interferes with their normal work, spending time with friends or doing what they love.
Why can periods be painful?
Pain during menstruation can be very strong: to assess the intensity of pain, doctors have come up with a special scale, according to which 0 means no pain at all, and 4 means very severe pain.
It is difficult to describe the pain women experience. In one of the widely discussed publications , a male physician mentioned that “this pain is almost the same as that experienced by patients with a heart attack.” Such a comparison caused a lot of comments and discussions on social networks and on the pages of various media: for example, gynecologist Jen Gunther wrote that in most cases menstruation is much more painful than sensations with a heart attack, and besides that, she recalled that up to 40% of women and do not suffer a heart attack at all.
Pain during menstruation – dysmenorrhea – may be associated with physiological features, specific structure and location of the pelvic organs. However, they can often be caused by inflammatory diseases affecting the reproductive or urinary system, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
When should I see a doctor?
A 2019 study published by researchers from the Netherlands suggests pain is the most common symptom of menstruation. About 85% of women faced it, and every third, due to discomfort during menstruation, was forced to skip work or give up some usual activities. At the same time, only every second admitted to the real reasons for their act, mentioning menstruation, while others came up with some other, “more valid” reason.
This behavior of women is associated with the stigmatization of menstruation – talking about the process itself and the associated discomfort is indecent, inconvenient, and for some it is even embarrassing.
But you do not need to endure pain – it is harmful, and in some cases even dangerous. You can learn more about the causes of painful periods and how to deal with pain by watching our video with Niso Mirzoevna Nazarova, obstetrician-gynecologist, doctor of medical sciences, leading researcher at the N.N. Academician V.I.Kulakov .
