Home Exercises During Primary Dysmenorrhea

There's increasing evidence that exercising at home may help reduce the pain and discomfort you feel during your menstrual cycle. Exercise is an accessible and convenient form of pain relief for women with primary dysmenorrhea, or pain during their periods. It doesn't require trips to the doctor's office, or even to the gym, and unlike medications, its side effects actually benefit your health.

Background

Primary dysmenorrhea is period pain and cramping that's not caused by an underlying medical condition. It usually lasts for the first three days of your period, when chemical messengers called prostaglandins peak. The condition usually begins during adolescence, but it can start at any point in a woman's life. It can bring with it a whole host of symptoms, such as cramping, abdominal pain, headaches, backaches and nausea. It's commonly treated with pain relievers and birth control pills, but exercise may also help relieve symptoms.

Exercise and Dysmenorrhea

Exercise has been shown to ease dysmenorrhea symptoms in at least one study. A 2010 study published in the "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews" found that exercise decreased symptoms of dysmenorrhea for a small sample of women who exercised during their menstrual cycles. The women were able to sustain their relief for three observed cycles, indicating that exercise likely reduced symptoms each time it was applied to that cycle. It's an especially promising form of treatment because patients can find relief without prescriptions and at their convenience. Still, it may not be exercise alone that eases symptoms, so more research needs to be conducted.

Stress and Prostaglandins

Exercise reduces stress, and this reduction in stress may play the bigger role in symptom relief than the exercise itself. Prostaglandins, which cause uterine muscle contractions, are at their highest levels at the start of menstruation. According to a 2008 study published by "The Endocrine Society," stress affects prostaglandins in ways that translate to increased menstrual pain. Exercises that reduce stress help minimize the effect of pain-causing prostaglandins.

Types of Exercises

Cardiovascular exercises, such as walking, running or exercising to aerobics DVDs at home, provide stress-relieving benefits. For women who may not be able to perform these comfortably, yoga, pilates and light stretches offer stress-relieving benefits and are low-impact exercises that can be done at home.

Timeline

The 2010 study published by "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews" found that women who exercised improved symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea within three cycles. This indicates that exercise's effects on the menstrual cycle can happen relatively quickly. You may find the exercises you do help you both in the moment and in the long term.