Menstrual Back Pain

Menstrual Pain Overview

Menstrual cramps are sharp pains in a woman's lower abdomen that occur when her menstrual period begins and may continue for 2-3 days. Symptoms can range in severity from a mild annoyance to severe pain that interferes with normal activities.

Menstrual cramps are the leading cause of absenteeism in women younger than 30 years. Although over half of women who have menstrual periods experience some discomfort, 10% are temporarily disabled by symptoms.

The following circumstances may make a woman more likely to experience menstrual cramps:

• She started her first period at an early age (younger than 11 years).
  
  
• Her menstrual periods last 5 days or longer.
  
  
• She is overweight or obese.
  
  
• She smokes cigarettes or uses alcohol.
  
  
• She has never been pregnant.

Menstrual Pain Causes

Prostaglandins are chemicals a woman's body produces that cause many of the symptoms associated with menstrual discomfort. The tissue that lines the uterus makes these chemicals. Prostaglandins stimulate the uterine muscles to contract. Women who have high levels of prostaglandin experience more intense contractions of their uterus and more pain. Prostaglandins may also be responsible for vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches that accompany painful periods.

Other menstrual-type pain can be caused by conditions of the reproductive tract, such as the following:

• Endometriosis - Uterine tissue that appears outside the uterus
  
  
• Fibroids and adenomyosis - Harmless (benign) growths in the uterus
  
  
• Infections in the reproductive organs
  
  
• Abnormal pregnancy, such as an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the tubes, outside the uterus)
  
  
• IUD (intra-uterine device) used for birth control
  
  
• Ovarian cyst
  
  
• Narrow cervix

If a woman has had menstrual pain ever since her periods started, the condition is classified as primary dysmenorrhea. If some physical condition such as pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis is causing the menstrual pain, this is called secondary dysmenorrhea. Once the medical condition is treated, the menstrual pain usually goes away.

Menstrual Pain Symptoms

In addition to cramps in the lower abdomen, a woman may also experience some of these symptoms with menstrual cramps:

• Lower back pain
  
  
• Leg pain, radiating down the legs
  
  
• Nausea
  
  
• Vomiting
  
  
• Diarrhea
  
  
• Headaches
  
  
• Irritability
  
  
• Weakness
  
  
• Fainting spells (in extreme cases)