What is the best treatment of Period Pains

Exercise may be the last thing on your mind during your time of the month—but it could be the ticket to feeling like yourself again. Besides providing an extra dose of mood-boosting endorphins, exercising during your period is shown to help relieve abdominal cramps, bloating, headaches, and lower back pain.

​Pelvic tucks

Lie on the floor and place your feet a little wider than hip-width apart. Slowly lift your hips off the floor and up, then gently lower down one vertebra at time. Lift and lower slowly for one to two minutes. Why it works: “Getting the blood to circulate to the lower back muscles, while also gently strengthening them, is a great way to relieve lower back pain,” says Becker.

Top taps

When it’s that time of the month, Katie Dunlop, founder of Love Sweat Fitness, uses this as her go-to move. Lie on your back with your forearms at your side. Raise your feet off the floor to 90 degrees and lower right leg to tap toes on the floor, return to starting position and repeat with left leg. Continue to alternate sides. Engage your core. Why it works: It works the lower abdominal muscles and relieves cramps.

​Thigh dancing

Sit in a kneeling position with knees hip-width apart and your bottom on your heels. Lift your hips a couple of inches off your heels and gently roll your hips forward and back. Make sure to contract your abs as you roll your hips forward and let out a strong exhale. Try to tuck your hips forward and back 30 times at a moderate pace. Feeling up for a challenge? Becker suggests lifting your arms above your head to increase difficulty. Why it works: “This exercise simultaneously strengthens your abs, while also working your thigh muscles,

Place your forearms on a sturdy piece of furniture (like the back of your sofa) or kitchen counter and walk your feet far enough forward so that your body makes and “L” shape. Extend your right leg out straight while keeping your left leg slightly bent. Begin to lift and lower your right leg up and down (floor to hip height) while engaging your abs. Make sure not to arch your back. Try to lift and lower for 60 seconds on each leg. You can also try doing this exercise on the floor: Lie on your back with your left leg bent and your right leg lifted straight out in front of you. Raise your hips and keep the left leg bent and right leg lifted.

​The Rockette

Lie on your back and lift your legs straight up above your hips. While engaging your abs, lift your head, neck, and shoulders off the floor. Gently lower one leg towards the floor, then start to slowly scissor your legs. You can hold on to each leg as it comes towards your chest for extra stretch and support. Try to scissor legs up and down for 30 seconds.

​Yoga

According to a study in the 2016 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, women in Taiwan who participated in a short-term yoga exercise intervention reported, “fewer physical premenstrual symptoms associated with a lower risk of menstrual pain.” Plus, the practice is best known for boosting energy, decreasing anxiety, and improving overall mood.

​Reclined bound angle

With a bolster or tightly-rolled blanket flush with the sacrum (the triangular bone in your lower back), running parallel with the spine, slowly begin to lie back. You’ll feel a gentle stretch in the lower back. Inhale, and let your knees drop open and the bottoms of the feet come together to form a diamond shape and open the groin. Support the knees if necessary with blocks or couch pillows at the outer thigh/knee. With palms facing up, slide the arms out away from the body to a comfortable position.

​Seated leg forward bend

Starting in a seated position with your legs stretched out in front of you. (If your legs feel tight, tight place yoga blocks under your knees or sit on a blanket or cushion.) On an exhale, hinge from the hips and slowly fold forward. Keep your sitting bones grounded and spine long as the body lowers towards the legs. With the shoulders relaxed, outstretch your arms towards your feet or shins to keep length in the lower back (use a strap if your arms can’t reach your legs comfortably).

Seated twist

Starting in a seated position on the floor with the legs extended out in front of you, draw the right leg up so that your right foot is near your left knee on the floor, then drop the knee open (if the hips are tight and the knee floats, prop the bent leg or sit on a cushion). Sitting tall, flex the extended leg, keeping your bottom touching the floor.

Home Remedies for Menstrual Cramps

Hot Water Compress

• Put a towel drenched in hot water over your lower abdomen to get relief from menstrual pain.
• Alternatively, you can use a bottle filled with hot water and place it on your lower abdomen to soothe cramps and pain.

Bioflavonoids

• Consume food rich in bioflavanoids like citrus fruits, mangoes, sprouts, brussels, broccoli, etc.

• Consume foodstuff rich in iron and calcium like milk, egg, legumes, green leafy vegetables, beans, lentils, chickpeas and soybeans, dried fruits like raisins and prunes, etc.

Curd and Bananna

• Cook banana leaves in oil for a while, and mix them with curd. It makes a great recipe for cramps.

Ginger

• Add ginger to cakes, cookies, vegetables and tea. To prepare ginger tea, steep ½ tbsp of crushed ginger in a cup of boiling water and strain it. Sip this tea 2-3 times a day. You can also add cinnamon powder, lemon juice and honey to the tea. This is one of the best natural remedies for menstrual cramps.

Mustard Seeds

Steep some mustard seeds in water; or alternatively, add mustard powder in warm water. Dip your feet in it for 30-45 minutes. This is a great way to cure menstrual cramps.

Fennel Seeds

• Chew some raw fennel seeds daily or as and when required. They also act as a mouth freshener, aids in digestion and eliminate the symptoms of menstrual cramps.
• Another option is to steep some fennel seeds in water. Strain this mixture and add some honey to it. Drink this herbal tea when your periods are about to start.

Flaxseeds

• Consume 1 tbsp of flaxseeds daily throughout the menstrual cycle. Alternatively, mix 1 tbsp of flaxseeds along with yogurt or salad and eat it. This is one of the most effective natural cures for cramps.

Papaya / Banana

• Have papaya shake or banana shake daily. This will help regulate and ease the flow of blood during periods.

Coriander Seeds

• Steep some coriander seeds in 1 cup of boiling water, and strain this mixture when it reduces to half. Add some honey or sugar if required and drink it to get relief from menstrual cramps.

Sesame Seeds

• Boil 1-2 tbsp of sesame seeds in water and strain this mixture. Let it cool down. Drink it throughout the day during periods.

Carom Seeds

Roast some carom seeds and have them with milk when you experience intolerable pain.

• Alternatively, ingest carom seeds with boiled water.
• If oil of carom seeds is available, then apply it on thighs and legs to get relief from menstrual cramps.

Oil Massage

• Mix almond oil, lavender oil, cypress oil and peppermint oil; and apply onto the abdominal area to get instant relief from pain.

Carrots

• Drink carrot juice during your menstruation days. You can also eat raw carrot. This facilitates the regulation of blood flow during periods.

Milk

• Drink a glass of milk everyday as it is important to take sufficient quantities of calcium in your daily diet, to stop the reoccurrence of cramps.

Blackstrap Molasses

• Add one to two tbsp of blackstrap molasses to a cup of warm milk and drink it when menstrual cramps begin. Being rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, selenium and vitamin B6, it helps soothe the muscles of uterine walls and lessens blood clots.

Asafoetida

• Mix some asafetida powder in honey and butter; and consume it.
• Or else, add asafetida while cooking food, to get rid of cramps.

Herbal Remedies for Menstrual Cramps

Aloe Vera

• Include aloe vera juice in your diet along with honey to get rid of menstrual cramps.

Chasteberry

• Chasteberry is used to cure several gynecological problems including premenstrual syndrome, menopause, and menstrual cramps. Take 1-2 teaspoons of dried berries, and boil them in 1 cup of water. Steep for 10-15 minutes. Drink this decoction twice or thrice a day.

Parsley

• Drink parsley juice regularly to reduce the problem of irregular periods and cramps.
• Alternatively, put cucumber, carrot, beetroot and parsley in a blender and blend them to extract the juice. This must be taken regularly during menses to regulate and ease the blood flow.

Basil

• Chew some leaves of basil every day. Or else, steep some leaves in water and strain the mixture. Mix some honey if required. This is very effective tea for menstrual cramps.

Raspberry Leaf or Green Tea

• Drink some jasmine-flavored green tea or tea prepared from raspberry leaves to relax the abdominal muscles.

 Mint / Wintergreen

• Steep some peppermint or wintergreen leaves in water for 10-15 minutes and strain this mixture. Let it cool and then sip it throughout the day.
• Alternatively, you can even try chewing gum and candies containing peppermint.

Indian Lilac (Azadirachta Indica) Leaves

• Crush 8-10 leaves of Indian lilac and form a paste. Take it along with warm water or a cup of buttermilk. It is a very effective herbal remedy for treating cramps.

Cinnamon

• Steep some cinnamon sticks in water for 5-10 minutes. Strain this mixture. Allow it to cool; and add honey. Drink this tea throughout your periods or just before its onset.
• Alternatively, you can sprinkle some cinnamon powder on your spring rolls, apple pie, etc.

Lemon Grass

• Drink juice of lemongrass to treat cramps resulted due to periods.

Thyme

• Steep some thyme leaves in water for 5 minutes. Strain this mixture and then drink it after every half hour. This is very effective remedy for menstrual cramps.
• Alternatively, crush some thyme leaves and extract the juice. Mix this juice in one cup of water and sip it once daily.

Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi)

• The juice or oil extracted from spikenard acts as a muscle relaxant and helps treat menstrual pain effectively.

 Cramp Bark and Black Haw

• Make use of juice or extract of this herb. It acts as an excellent treatment for severe menstrual cramps.

Black Cohosh

• Extract some juice from the root of this herb and drink it. The medicinal properties of black cohosh naturally cure the symptoms associated with menstrual cramps.

 Dong Quai

• The juice or soup of this herb increases the blood circulation in the body and relieves muscle spasm.

 Motherwort

• It is very effective in reducing cramps, uterine muscle spasm, stress, heart palpitations and nervousness related to pelvic pain. This herb helps in the same way as dong Quai and relaxes muscle pain/spasm in the abdomen.

Wild Yam

• The root of wild yam must be used as an herbal remedy for menstrual discomfort and menopausal symptoms. Its antispasmodic properties help reduce the pain during periods.

Chamomile

• Drink chamomile tea to ease the pain. Add two tbsp of dried chamomile flowers to water and boil. This solution must be taken 1 week before you are expecting your periods, as it relieves pelvic muscles; thus, reduces menstrual cramps.

Jamaican Dogwood

• The extract of roots, leaves, and bark of this herb must be taken to get relief from pain and induce sleep.

White Willow Bark

• Its bark is tattered and boiled to prepare the oil, tea, or squashed into pills. For effective results, consume it on a regular basis for a week or more before your periods begin. The salicin content in white willow bark resists pain very effectually.

Evening Primrose / Borage Oil

• Massage your pelvic and lower abdominal region with this oil to get relief from menstrual cramps.

 Homeopathy remedies for menstrual cramps

Belladonna

• Throbbing pains, violent pains, worse on the right side. Sudden onset. Bright red, clotted, hot, profuse bleeding. Congested/full feeling in the uterus. Bearing down sensation. Irritable with maddening pains. Better lying down, propped up; thirst for cold water or no thirst at all, desire for lemons or lemonade, worse motion, worse from being jarred, worse light and noise.

Chamomilla

• The metals will be the guiding symptoms here. The person may be hypersensitive and intolerant to the pain–very irritable, easily angered and inconsolable. Intense pains extending down inner thighs. The blood may be black with large clots with the gushing of bright red blood. The person desires cold drinks, is worse lying down, better cold applications.

Colocynthis

• This one looks a lot like Mag-phos. (see below). There’s a bit more emphasis on the amelioration from hard pressure with this one. There may be an exaggerated “bending double” postition; with Mag-phos, the heat is more important than the hard pressure, though Colocynth likes heat as well. Thirsty. Irritable, indignant. Anger aggravates.

Lac Caninum

• Painful swelling of the breasts before the period. Flow is in gushes. Pains may alternate from side to side.

Lachesis

• PMS-irritable, jealous, depressed, headache, flushes of heat all ameliorated with the onset of the flow. Severe cramps, worse from the pressure of the clothing, ameliorated with the onset of the flow. Flow may be black, scanty, lumpy; the less the flow, the more the pain. Better from open-air, cold drinks, talking, worse from sleep, heat, hot drinks.

Magnesia Phosphorica

• This is the main one; if you’re not sure what to do, give Mag-Phos. This is the typical picture of a woman with her period, doubled up with a hot water bottle or heating pad pressed firmly against her stomach. The flow is dark. She wants to be nurtured; better hot baths, better pressure, worse lying on the right side. Thirst for cold drinks.

Nux Vomica

• Pain in the lower back with constant urging to stool. The patient may be chilly and very irritable, impatient and angry. Better rest, lying down, worse pressure–even pressure of clothing. The desire for fats and spicy foods.

Pulsatilla

• The menses are easily suppressed, for instance, by getting the feet wet or by bathing. Menses are irregular and the flow is irregular–changeable. The metals will be a tip-off here. The Pulsatilla person is weepy, changeable, shy, dependent, wants nurturing, love, attention; she is thirstless; she craves creamy things–whipped cream, ice cream; she is warm, worse in warm rooms, better in the open air, walking slowly in cool crisp weather.

Sabina

• Severe cramps extend from low back to pubis; also, the pain extends from the uterus to thighs. Blood is bright red or bright red mixed with dark clots. Shooting pain up the vagina. Better lying flat on the back with limbs extended.

Secale

• Continuous discharge of watery black blood until the next period.

Sepia

• Weak uterus, bearing down sensation as if all the organs would fall out, must cross her legs; menses late, scanty, irregular or early and profuse. Violent stitches upward in the vagina. Low sex drive. The patient may be angry, tired, chilly, irritable and over-worked. She may desire sour foods like pickles, but also may desire chocolate. She may be much improved by exercise, worse from cold, better warmth.

Veratrum Album

• Heavy periods, severe cramps often associated with diarrhea and vomiting. Chilliness with cold sweat, especially on the forehead, and weakness/exhaustion, feel faint; my desire ice water.