How to reduce period pain
Period pain is NOT normal! You may experience some discomfort and heaviness on your bleed but you shouldn't experience pain.
First things first, we need to investigate into why you are experiencing period pain. I usually do a comprehensive blood panel (posted a few reels ago) to look into nutrient imbalances, hormones, inflammatory markers, blood sugar imbalances, thyroid health, nervous system status etc. We also need to be looking into your diet and lifestyle practices as these can drive up period pain too!
Work on reducing inflammation, we can do this through diet eg. cutting/minimising super inflammatory foods/beverages like alcohol, processed meats, vegetable and seed oils, soft drinks etc. We can also reduce inflammation through lifestyle practices too by increasing exercises however overdoing the exercise can also spike up your inflammatory levels too so we need to make sure you are hitting a nice level of exercise for your body specifically. Then we can also utilise herbs and nutrients too, my favs are high dose fish oils + curcuma and ginger! Also please try to quit smoking!
Balance your hormones! This is really individualised and depends on which hormones are imbalanced in your body. Most commonly with period pain I see that women have high oestrogen and low progesterone levels however it isn't always these two imbalanced! A great way that you can start to balance your hormones is by reducing your EDC (endocrine disrupting chemical) exposure and looking into low-tox swaps for example swap all of your plastics for glass or wood (chopping boards, water bottles, etc), stop using non-stick pans - swap these for stainless steel or cast iron, look into the ingredients you are using on your skin in your makeup, body wash, deoderants etc and swap over to low-tox options. Another great way to help support your hormones is by supporting your liver, eat lots of cruciferous and bitter veggies including rocket, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage etc.
Then we need to look into your nervous system functioning, are you stressed, anxious, depressed, not sleeping properly? These areas are all going to impact your HPA axis (nervous system) that is going to directly affect your HPO axis (hormones). Bringing in some mindfulness practices can help to nourish your nervous system such as meditation, breathwork, yoga, walking, reading, journalling etc - however this isn't going to help overnight, you need to be consistent here. Find a hobbie and incorporate this into your weekly routine as well! Increase your protein intake, protein contains amino acids that are the building blocks for neurotransmitters!
Balance your blood sugar levels! A few great ways to help balance your blood sugar levels is by making sure you have well-balanced meals with healthy fats, carbs and protein, move your body - go for a walk or lift some weights after eating, if you're going to have a sweet treat then have it straight after a meal rather than waiting, you can also have a tbsp of apple cider vinegar in a small amount of water before eating a meal too! Increased blood sugar can help to imbalance your hormones and increase your inflammation and histamine too!
Now let’s talk about ways that you can actually reduce the pain symptomatically from a natural perspective:
Use a heat pack!
Massage a soothing and spasmolytic oil around your abdomen such as lavendar oil
Eat warming meals
Use a TENs machine (I personally use Ovira)
Rest - relax where possible, practice yoga and walking but forget about high intensity workouts on your bleed
Enjoy some dark chocolate!
Nutrients that I love for period pain: magnesium and PEA are my two favs for helping to reduce the actual pain!
Herbs that are my go-tos are corydalis, devil’s claw, cramp bark, curcuma, passion flower, ginger, kava... the list goes on and on!
Acupuncture!! Doing this before and during your period can really help to downregulate the pain