Painful periods

Painful periods


Period pains are cramping abdominal pains experienced during, and sometimes just before, a woman's monthly period. They affect 80% of women at some time in their lives. Usually they are not a sign of a serious underlying problem and can be treated with self-help methods.

Painful periods
The medical term for painful periods is dysmenorrhoea. There are two types.



Primary dysmenorrhoea
This term is used to describe normal period pain experienced by many women around the time of their period. There is no underlying medical problem. It most commonly affects teenagers and young women. This is the type of period pain discussed in this factsheet.

Secondary dysmenorrhoea
This term is used to describe pain around the time of the period that’s caused by an underlying problem. It is less common than primary dysmenorrhoea, and tends to affect women later in their reproductive lives.

What causes period pain?
Pains may start with the first-ever period. However, they are more likely to begin 6-12 months later, once cycles where an egg is released are established. It's these cycles that appear to cause more pain.

The cause of period pain is not certain. Once an egg has been released from one of the ovaries, natural chemicals produced by the body called prostaglandins are made in the lining of the uterus (womb). Some prostaglandins cause the walls of the uterus to contract. Some women produce higher levels of prostaglandins, which may cause increased contractions of the uterus. These cramps may be more painful because there is reduced blood (and therefore oxygen) supply to the myometrium (muscle wall of the uterus) during the contractions.