There are 2 types of period pain- primary period pain, meaning there is no physical abnormality or pathology (illness) involved and secondary period pain, which is caused by a specific condition  such as fibroids, endometriosis or poly cystic ovaries. 

Today we’re going to be talking about the causes of primary period pain, although through clinical experience, I believe there is a correlation between primary & secondary period pain.

There are 2 main reasons why a woman get’s period pain.

1). Either an imbalance between estrogen & progesterone

2). An increase of inflammation in the body.

Often both reasons can play a role in period pain.

So how does an imbalance of estrogen & progesterone cause period pain?

Many women are suffering from having too much estrogen. Estrogen needs to be excreted in part, via the liver. In today’s society, we have more toxins in our environment than ever before. Our livers’ get overloaded with toxins & we don’t filter them as we should. Estrogen may get backed up.
Xeno-estrogen’s are also an issue in our environment. Many plastics mimic real estrogen in our bodies & our bodies don’t know the difference.
…. many women have too much estrogen. Estrogen has been proven to be a “contracting hormone” to the uterus.

Just like so many aspects of life, progesterone to estrogen is like yin is to yang.

Progesterone relaxes the uterine smooth muscle. However, stress can indirectly deplete progesterone levels. Many women suffer from too much estrogen & not enough progesterone, therefore getting too many uterine contractions & not enough uterine relaxation- this can lead to period pain.

While we are only talking about primary period pain here, long term inbalances between estrogen & progesterone may contribute to secondary period pain.

Seeing a naturopath can help you to decrease your estrogen naturally & boost your progesterone. This is turn may help to decrease period pain.

The second reason why primary period pain can occur is due to inflammation. In our body we have inflammatory proteins. Poor food choices, stress, illness or an overload of toxins in our body can increase these inflammatory proteins. The more inflammation that is in the body, the more period pain we get around period pain time.

In clinical practice, I have seen some women become free from period pain, just by making some dietary changes.

Cutting coffee down, or better stil, cutting it out out, increasing lots of different colored vegetables and 2 pieces of fruit a day & getting rid of processed foods (as well as foods with hidden sugar & salt like your Thai take-away) may all help to reduce inflammation & period pain.

So now you’re armed with the right information about why you may be getting period pain. Make sure you see a fully qualified Healthcare Professional as this is only a guide.

Natural Medicine can play a huge role in decreasing or eliminating your period pain. Call us today to find out how we can help you. 1300 91 21 81.