Period Pain

BOYF news letter No.9

Period pain

As much as this is important for women to know guys should be aware of this also. Why? You may ask? Because you may have to look after your or someone else’s daughter one day. Another reason may be that you just want to love your wife or girlfriend and knowing some simple keys will mean the difference between peace and suffering for her.

What is period pain?

Period pain is what a female may experience when she has her menstrual cycle. The pain can come before or during her menstrual cycle and the intensity can vary from person to person. The pain may be slight cramps or it can be so debilitating she may have to check into a hospital.

Does every woman experience period pain?

No, and they shouldn’t! Most women I speak with have a belief that period pain is a phenomenon that all women go through but this is far from the truth. Period pain is a symptom of your body being out of balance and not a natural part of the menstrual cycle. Women should not experience any pain at all with their period whether it is breast tenderness, low abdomen cramps or any other pain.

What actually happens every month?

The menstrual cycle is a shedding of the uterus wall and it should happen without pain. Every month a woman’s uterus creates a lining of blood vessels to prepare a home for the anticipated fertilized egg. If a woman becomes pregnant the egg will feed off the wall of blood until a developed baby has grown. If pregnancy does not occur the uterus will shred the lining and this is what is called your menstrual cycle or period. This process should be pain free but for a lot of women its not.

Why pain occurs.

In Chinese medicine we talk about liver Qi stagnation, cold in the lower Jiao, cold in the channels, blood deficiency and stagnation of blood. These are all terms that will be the reason why a woman will experience period pain. Simply put, if the blood or energy is not flowing freely around the uterus a women will experience pain.

The Liver organ is the main culprit

The Livers job is to smoothly circulate energy (Qi) and blood around the body. It is also responsible for the suppleness of muscle and tendons, lubricated eyes and the ability to see as well as preparing a fertile ground within the uterus for a baby to grow. When the Liver energy is out of balance we will experience liver Qi stagnation and blood stagnation. And this takes us to why a woman will experience period pain. Liver Qi stagnation is caused usually by stress, the liver becomes heated and aggravated by emotional turmoil and then the Liver Qi will stagnate giving the body pain. Qi stagnation will inturn stagnate blood flow and then a stabbing type pain will be felt. To rectify this problem you could have acupuncture, massage if the symptoms are not to bad and Chinese herbs.

Cold in the lower Jiao or channels

If you could imagine a lake flowing nicely just before the cold snap of winter and then all of a sudden it freezes. “Well”, this is something like what happens with the blood that circulates around the uterus when it’s invaded by cold or cold gets into the acupuncture channels. When cold invades the body your blood will stagnate and this will give you very severe cramping.

The above symptoms are the main reasons why a woman will experience period pain. Other reasons may be dampness, meaning there is a type of mouldy by product developed in your body due to digestive system weakness and this prevents the blood from circulating. And another reason may be endometriosis.

Period pain can be prevented and can be treated without going on the pill or any other chemical intervention. If you have cold the pain will be stabbing, for this drink ginger tea with a little honey. If there is a cramping sensation this is liver Qi stagnation and in this case do something relaxing like walking in the park and look at the green grass and trees. Green soothes the liver. Also meditation and yoga Nidra will help ease tension. The gym is not recommended it is stressful on the body and will only make the pain worse. And if you have blood stagnation you can do both. The warmth of the ginger will help move the blood and relaxation will help free up any Qi stagnation.

Many women experience tiredness and dizziness after their period and this is because of lack of blood and the body’s inability to replenish the blood lost after a period. This subject will be spoken more about in another BOYF news letter.

Until next time,

Take care.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

www.backonyourfeet.com.au