I periodically run on to literature/information/propaganda that recommends exercise as a way of relieving menstrual cramps. Somebody please explain this to me. Is this “information” published by mysogynistic sadists?
Let me explain. I have a uterine fibroid, which means cramps a go-go for three days out of any given month- not so severe now that I’m using the birth control patch, but they can still be pretty nasty. I’ve been incapacitated for three days with them- at least now I can control them with normal doses of ibuprofen. Anyhoo…
I don’t dare exercise during the first three days that Aunt Flo is visiting. Anything more than a short walk kicks the cramps in. If I try even a light workout, or take a short dip in the swimming pool, anything, and if I’m not cramping, I’ll get cramps, if I have just mild cramps, they’ll become incapacitating. If I’m careful, I can do an abbreviated yoga routine, but I can’t do any abdominal exercise.
So, why do “experts” recommend exercise as a cure for cramps? Am I just some kind of anomaly, and it actually helps most women? Or is exercise supposed to be some kind of cure-all (it’s also recommended for depression, which I have struggled with my whole life, but I haven’t found that it helps with that, either.) Do they recommend it because it seems to help a certain percentage of women? Or is it just some twisted plot by sick individuals who get off on the thought of women lying on the floor in their leotards or sweats writhing in pain from engaging in an activity they had been told would help ease or prevent that very pain?
Light exercise, for most people, causes the release of endorphins. For a lot of women, it does indeed help with mild to moderate cramping. (And if it doesn’t actually relieve your pain, it at least takes your mind off it for a while, which can make you feel better.)
Personally, I find the exercise cure to be like the orgasm cure in that it just doesn’t work on the cramps you really need help with. (I mean, really, who can have an orgasm when it feels like someone’s got a Garden Weasel in your guts?)
Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s natural happy pills, which contribute to the feeling known as “Jogger’s High”. IIRC, these are amino acids that attach themselves to opiate neural receptors in the brain. One very commonly known opiate is morphine. So, basically, endorphins seem to be duplicating morphine’s painkilling effects.
Also, they’re refering not just to excercise during your period, but all other times of the month, too. The idea being that healthy, strengthened pelvic/abdominal/other muscles function better and are less prone to cramping.
I find that when I work our regularly the rest of the month my cramping is less frequent and severe, so it does work - for a normal, healthy woman.
Fibroids are a different matter. If they’re causing “knock you off your feet” levels of pain during your period no, don’t excercise when that is going on, OK? The advice the “experts” are giving out is not intended for women with your particular situation.
I try to exercise regularly- I walk a lot, do yoga, occasionally bellydance if I’m feeling particularly spry. But I have found that even exercising daily the whole month, I still get the knock-you-on-your-ass cramps and basically have to suspend my exercise routine, and since my periods usually leave me feeling like total crap for about seven days (tired, cranky, completely exhausted), I often have a hard time getting back into the routing once Aunt Flo has left town.
Anyhoo, I’ll try just not working out those three days and try to ease myself back into my routine when the cramps subside.
I don’t get any cramps if I exercise, but I get AWFUL ones if I don’t. And when I get menstrual cramps from not exercising, then, of course, there’s no way in hell I’m getting up to exercise - it hurts too damn much. For me, it helps to just keep working out unless I’m sick. I think it must depend on your particular body chemistry. Also, I can’t imagine that having a fibroid would help. Just my two cents.
I find that when I’m exercising really hard, I sort of “forget” about my cramps. I’m concentraing too hard on the workout to think about them. They’re still there and come back with a vengence when I stop but during is a little better. But I rarely have full-blown cramps anymore since Aleve came out. I loooove that stuff. I can finally sleep for eight hours instead of being awakened by cramps in the middle of the night when the Advil wears off.
I also seem to get tired out faster and feel weaker when I exercise while on my period. But I think that may be partly psychosomatic…
I don’t have cramps or periods anymore (thank you, birth control) but when I did, they were awful. Exercise helped tons with my cramps, especially walking.
My mom has a fibroid too, and though her cramps have gone away with the onset of menopause, exercise was awful for her when she was crampy.
I was always told by my cross country coaches that having menstrual cramps were no excuse for missing practice, since the exercise would actually make you feel better. This never held true for me, because I couldn’t even retain my balance while standing on the first couple days of my period–the pain was that great, and I couldn’t get any pain medication to work. I don’t have any fibroids or anything abnormal (that they’ve found, at least). I always just figured that it worked for women who get lighter cramps than I do.
If it’s at all feasible, Asbestos Mango, I highly recommend going on birth control. Since I started taking them, the intensity of my cramps has been cut in half. I can now function on a quasi-normal level even through my cramps. YMMV, of course.
Definately so: I did some poking around to see if I could find studies that examined what effect (if any) exercise had on menstrual cramps, and came up with a mixed bag. Some reported no effect, some reported that it helped reduce the severity, others reported that it made things worse. (I, unfortunately, am in the latter group.)
I’d be inclined to believe (WAG ahead!) that (some? many?) doctors advise exercise as a ‘cure’ because, in general, many people need more exercise anyway and the doctor is trying to kill two birds with one stone. Plus, it’s a fairly easy path to take: it isn’t a radical change and if it doesn’t work it’s easy enough to move onto other tactics.
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I’m not a “fit” person, but even just getting up and moving helps my cramps. Walking around the mall or any kind of light activity helps. Personally, I think it’s a combination of physical and psychological stimuli that makes the cramps less severe.
I found that when I exercised regularly, my cramps were somewhat lightened, when I had normal cramps. When I had some fibroids, though, nothing would help (except possibly narcotics, which I wasn’t about to try).
I would like to compliment CCL for the most accurate description of acute cramps I’ve ever read.