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Natural Remedies for Menstrual Cramps
Health | April 23, 2018
It’s that time of the month again.
You’re dealing with menstrual cramps that just won’t let up.
You’re not alone.
Menstrual cramps are normal and a common symptom which usually occurs during the days before or the first days of your menstrual cycle. A majority of women who menstruate report that they have some pain from period cramps each month, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Also referred to as dysmenorrhea, menstrual cramps, although usually not a sign of serious health conditions, can often mess with your lifestyle when it is that time of the month.
But rather than reaching for that bottle of Midol, consider trying some natural home remedies instead. To help with the pain, here are a few things which may help:
- Start by improving your healthy fat intake. By reducing inflammatory fats such as soybean, corn, and vegetable oil, and increasing your vegetable intake, you may help to ease your monthly cramps. The American Heart Association (AHA)suggests to start by swapping out less healthy fats and choose healthier ones like the unsaturated fats found in olive oil. Overall, try to get 25-35% of your total daily calories from healthier fats like the ones found in nut, fish, and vegetable oils, the AHA says.
- Do some light exercise. It’s understandable that when you’re bloated and in pain, you just want to lay down and relax, but believe it or not, a little bit of exercise may help to solve your pain problem. Try some light aerobic exercises or even yoga. Low impact activities like walking are great for helping fight menstrual pain and are easier to do when you are feeling like not doing much else.
- Try using heat or hot compress. This is one of the most common and oldest known remedies. By applying heat or hot compress to your lower abdomen or lower back, the warmth may help to relieve pain as effective as taking an over the counter medicine.
- Ginger is an amazing herb that can effectively ease menstrual cramps, and can also help to fight the fatigue which is often associated with premenstrual syndrome and can make irregular periods more regular. Try adding ginger in your foods while cooking or suck on some ginger candies. Or make yourself a cup of ginger tea by grating a piece of ginger and boiling it in a cup of water for approximately five minutes. Strain the mixture and add a little honey and lemon juice to it. Drink this tea as needed/wanted during your menstrual cycle.
- Fennel is another herb which has many antispasmodics, phytoestrogens and anti-inflammatory properties which can help to relax the muscles in the uterus and relief any cramping and discomfort. Try adding one teaspoon of fennel seeds to a cup of boiling water, simmer, and then remove from heat before straining the tea. Drink this herbal tea two times daily beginning three days before the expected start date of your cycle. Continue drinking it as needed for pain. Drink it hot for best results.
- Massage therapy can also help to reduce pain brought on by menstrual cramps. One study looked at women who suffered from period pain caused by endometriosis. The research found that massage significantly reduced any pain immediately and afterward. Massage therapy for menstruation involves pressing specific points while the therapist’s hands move around your abdomen, sides, and back. By adding essential oils to the mix, you create an aromatherapy style of massage which have additional benefits. Researchers state that a blend of lavender, clary sage and marjoram oil works best for relief.
- Try taking some nutritional supplements:
- Whole Food Multivitamins– helps to maintain adequate nutrition
- Vitamin A– helps keep estrogen levels regulated
- Magnesium– relaxes the smooth muscle tissue and reduce menstrual cramping greatly
- Omega 6– can assist fertility by improving reproductive cell structure, decrease the risks of inflammation and help to improve the condition of your organs in the body
**If your period cramps don’t seem to ease up, or you don’t receive any relief despite trying some of these options, consult with your doctor to rule out more serious health issues.
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Private Member |
washington, dc, usa
Irish seamoss has worked tremendously for me.
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
I’ve always had moderately high pain with cramping…but the last few years, I’ve been getting PMS (and menstrual) migraines added to the mix. I know the article is more on the cramping aspect, but I wonder if some of these would help with PMS/Menstrual related migraines, too — particularly vitamin A for keeping hormones in check (since I KNOW these migraines are due to hormone shifts).
Now, no HUGE complaint, as I used to suffer from migraines *much* more frequently and am now down to a few biggies during “that time of month” (+ a few extras scattered about). But, wow, they sure do throw everything off. I’ve learned to predict when they’ll arrive and wind up planning my workout schedule around them (planning the rest days for when they hit, knowing they typically last 17-20 hours. They really take everything out of me 😣 ). Ideally, I’d love to figure out how to KEEP the hormones from being thrown so far out of whack so that the whole thing doesn’t upend everything. Thankfully, I’m not on any prescriptions, whatsoever — so nothing messing with hormones, there! When I cleaned up my diet, the frequency drastically decreased (lol, no longer 5 per week). It feels like a big puzzle with a lot of trial and error (mostly error when it came to doctor visits. So frustrating!), and bit by bit I’ve been able to get them to decrease. Wow, would I ever love to figure out how to take the period-related ones out of the mix! I have magnesium in regular rotation…I need to get Omegas and Vitamin A back in there and see if that helps at all. 😊
Private Member |
woodbridge, virginia, usa
So sorry to hear about those nasty migraines Christin. I purchased some essential oils that contained eucalyptus and chamomile for a co-worker who had extreme migraines after brain surgery and she said they helped her out tremendously. Maybe something similar could help you also…on top of that, I sent a prayer up for you so expect your healing.
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
Oooo, I love using oils! It’s funny, I do have some eucalyptus (in a blend), but I’ve never thought to use that one for migraines. I use peppermint a lot for migraines — while it doesn’t get rid of the pain, it DOES help take some of the edge off of it for a little while (And for minor pain, sometimes it zaps it out completely). I’ll give that one a try too!
Awwww, and thank you for your prayers! 😊If nothing else… it’s all helped me search out and find more and more healthy habits through the years. So something “bad” is being turned around for good! 😄
Private Member |
hailey, id
Hi Christin,
It’s truly a puzzle, indeed!! And what’s more important is this – every body is different, so what works miracles for one is not going to do anything for another.
I’ve got friends that insist on learning what blood type a person is so that they can eat a diet around that! .. it may be true for some, but not for others – again, the puzzle of it all..
And then there’s hard facts. Facts like how our gut and brain and thyroid are the key “conductors” of our health.
For me – what works wonders and has kept me quite puzzled because it’s working so well, is making sure I get iodine every day. I take a liquid, dropper form of it, about 15 drops every day. This has helped me keep my periods (I am glad I have them still!!!), tho I’ll be 56 in August, and my hair, and my youth… generally! People don’t know I’m as old as I am because I strive to keep my health as much as possible. But – from a naturopathic, medical doctor’s examination of me, after I was found to have breast cancer, iodine is a key element to keeping our thyroid in working order – — so that our hormones and brain and everything else are also in working order.
I also agree with you, that diet, oils and exercise are MASTERS over my body’s health! And I totally agree with Z’s findings about how the lymph system needs its circulation!! A mini trampoline is what I’ve been using, because that weightless moment we’re in the air is reportedly highly beneficial for our lymph nodes. I don’t do it enough, right now, but I have it available if jumping rope is too .. rough .. on my day.. hahaha
I wish you well, MissC! 🙂
Private Member |
ellijay, ga, united states
Ha ha, that guess work is what can make things so tough to figure out, sometimes! And that’s funny you brought the thyroid up. I’ve been looking at that lately (I know: sometimes looking at stuff on the Internet can be dangerous! It can make you think you have symptoms of the plague, if you keep digging! 😜) While I don’t have a lot of the common issues connected (like weight), I do see a lot of others (always tired, trouble sleeping, dry skin, etc). I know that affects the hormones, too. I re-started taking kelp supplements for iodine (but the liquid form would probably be more effective), so I’ll have to stay on top of that!
And the lymph nodes are something I’d never thought of before reading the article (Awwww, I wish I’d kept my mini-trampoline I had growing up!) That’s some other care to add in. Whew, there are a lot of pieces to the puzzle, with the body working as a whole! BUT it means learning new things for taking care of every part! 😊
Oof! I’m sorry to hear about your breast cancer. 😞Is that a recent diagnosis (or something that happened in the past)? If it’s currently going on, I hope it’s an early stage thing and you can kick it in its butt, beating it quickly and easily!!! (I’ll keep you in my prayers!)
Private Member |
woodbridge, virginia, usa
As much as I don’t feel up to it initially, I can attest to it… Exercise really does take those cramps away for me.
Private Member |
I have been following Shred and Glow meal plan and my periods have been much easier. I have had no menstrual cramps. This is Just one of the reasons I am loving the Shred and Glow meal plan.
Private Member |
I took 2 tbsp of blackstrap molasses everyday and when my next period came I had no cramps. Now, I would mix the molasses with almond milk and it almost made it taste like chocolate milk. I just hated taking the molasses by itself.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
get old and have babies…I barely have no cramps any longer. My GynOb said it would get milder after pregnancies, and I confirm. As teenager, I thought I would die, my hormones were just making me sick (throwing up, diahrrea , horrible cramps…basically the same sensation as going through labor). it only lasted a day, but that was a hell of a day.
now I can get over it…still bugs my digestion and don’t ask me too much, but never had any mood swings. it is truely Ladies’ holidays for 2 days for me and I kinda enjoy that break.
Private Member |
Ok, this will sound like a promo for keto, but after two months of following me to I’ve realised that my cramp pains are gone. Seriously, completely. I do take magnesium (I’ve been taken it for the past halve a year or so for other reasons), but the pains reduced to basically none just in the past month.
Private Member |
case pilote, martinique
Just like many women I experienced terrible pain when I was a teenager. Sometimes I just couldn’t move at all, sat on the couch drinking tea and eating chocolate… for 3 days ! What a waste. At that time I used to dance 6 to 8 hours a week and it was a real struggle to go on stage with these cramps. I was only 18 when I told my doctor she had to give me something for the pain because I thought I was going to die if I suffered again. Well in fact I refused to take pills to kill the pain. I never really trusted in chemicals… so she gave me birth control pill. Not a better choice but I actually never ever felt that terrible pain again. It was such a relief to be able to live like anyone else without having to stop my activities each month. Then I stopped the birth control pills in order to have children and at that point I was dreading the return of the pain and… nothing, absolutely nothing. I was so amazed !
In fact I believe that my diet now is much better and prevent the cramps from coming back. When I was a teenager I used to eat junk food, drink soda (not that much) and I was fond of chocolate bars. I wasn’t afraid to put on weight because I was underweight. I was lucky enough to have a mom cooking delicious balanced meals and now I eat as healthy as I can avoiding sugar at any cost and no more junk food. Just clean eating. And it made a big difference.
I never had to try other remedies but I know your advice might help other women, girls here because sometimes you don’t have somebody to talk to or people around you simply don’t have any answer.
Private Member |
havertown, pennsylvania, usa
How about raspberry leaf tea?! Works WONDERS for me each month. I’ll never take advil again! All natural is the best way to be, if you can manage. But before I found this worked for me, I couldn’t bear not to take medicine. The pain really can be so crippling at times. Calcium also helps wonders for helping muscle contractions, so load up on your dark leafy greens 😉