About Menstrual Cramps ( Dysmenorrhea ) :-
Menstrual cramps are pulsate or pain due to cramping in your lower abdomen. Most of the women have menstrual cramps just before and during their menstrual periods.
For some women, the discomfort is only annoying. For others, menstrual cramps can be critical enough to get in a way with daily activities for a few days every month.
Conditions such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids can lead to menstrual cramps.
Treating the cause is key to relief the pain. Menstrual cramps that are not caused by another condition tend to reduced with age and frequently get better after giving birth.
Menstrual Cramps Symptoms :-
Symptoms of menstrual cramps involve :• pulsate or cramping pain in your lower abdomen that can be severe,
• Pain that starts 1 to 3 days before your period, top 24 hours after the onset of your period and calm in 2 to 3 days,
• Dull, continuous ache,
• Pain that scatter to your lower back and thighs.
Some women may also have :
• Nausea,
• Loose stools,
• Headache,
• Dizziness.
Menstrual Causes :-
While your are having menstrual period, your uterus contracts to help remove its lining. Hormone like substances (prostaglandins) included in pain and inflammation activate the uterine muscle contractions. More levels of prostaglandins are connected with more critical menstrual cramps.Menstrual cramps can be caused by :
• Endometriosis -
The tissue that lines your uterus becomes implanted outside your uterus, most usually on your fallopian tubes, ovaries or the tissue lining your pelvis.
• Uterine fibroids -
These noncancerous growths in the wall of the uterus can lead to pain.
• Adenomyosis -
Tissue that lines your uterus starts to develop into the muscular walls of the uterus.
• Pelvic inflammatory disease -
This infection of the female reproductive organs is normally caused by sexually transmitted bacteria.
• Cervical stenosis -
In some of the women, the opening of the cervix is little enough to impede menstrual flow, this cause a painful increase of pressure in the uterus.
Menstrual Cramps Risk Factors :-
You may be at the risk of menstrual cramps if :• You're younger than age 30,
• You started puberty early, at the age of 11 or younger,
• You bleed heavily during periods (menorrhagia),
• You have irregular menstrual bleeding (metrorrhagia),
• You are having a family history of menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea),
• You smoke.
Menstrual Cramps Complications :-
Menstrual cramps does not cause other medical problems, but they can get in a way with school, work and social activities.Certain conditions linked with menstrual cramps can have problems, though. Like, endometriosis can lead to fertility problems. Pelvic inflammatory disease can scar your fallopian tubes, developing the risk of a fertilized egg implanting outside of your uterus (ectopic pregnancy).
Menstrual Cramps Diagnosis :-
Your doctor will view your medical history and will do a physical test, involving a pelvic exam. During the pelvic exam, your doctor will check for irregualarity in your reproductive organs and look for signs of infection.If your doctor feel that a disorder is causing your menstrual cramps, they your doctor may suggest you other tests, like :
• Ultrasound -
This test uses sound waves to produce an image of your uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes and ovaries.
• Other imaging tests -
A CT scan or MRI scan give more information than an ultrasound and can help your doctor find out underlying conditions. CT combines X-ray images taken from many angles to generate cross-sectional images of bones, organs and other soft tissues inside your body.
MRI uses radio waves and a powerful magnetic field to make detailed images of internal structures. Both tests are noninvasive and it is painless too.
• Laparoscopy -
Although not commonly important to diagnosis menstrual cramps, laparoscopy can help find out an underlying condition, like endometriosis, adhesions, fibroids, ovarian cysts and ectopic pregnancy. During this outpatient surgery, your doctor shows your abdominal cavity and reproductive organs by making tiny cut in your abdomen and putting a fiber-optic tube with a small camera lens.
Menstrual Cramps Treatment :-
To relief your menstrual cramps, your doctor may recommend :
• Pain relievers -
Nationwide pain relievers, like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve), at constant doses starting the day before you expect your period to start can help manage the pain of cramps. Suggestion nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are also available.
Start taking the pain reliever at the starting of your period, or as soon you feel symptoms, and continue taking the medicine as prescribe for two to three days, or take till your symptoms are gone.
• Hormonal birth control -
Oral birth control pills consists hormones that cure ovulation and lower the seriousness of menstrual cramps. These hormones can also be delivered in many other forms: an injection, a skin patch, an implant placed under the skin of your arm, a flexible ring that you put in your vagina, or an intrauterine device (IUD).
• Surgery -
If your menstrual cramps are caused by a disorder like endometriosis or fibroids, surgery to correct the problem may help your symptoms. Surgical taking out of the uterus also may be an option if other approaches fail to ease your symptoms and if you are not planning to have children