A menstrual cramp is something which every woman complains of for a day or two every month. Menstrual cramps are usually the pains felt in the lower abdomen, which can occur both before and during a woman's menstrual period. These cramps are caused by a hormone called prostaglandin that causes the uterine muscles to contract during menstruation. When the uterus contracts to shed its natural lining during your period it releases a hormone called prostaglandins which causes pain and inflammation. So higher the level of prostaglandins more severe the menstrual cramps.

It might be just a minor discomfort for some, but for others it can be severe. The symptoms of menstrual cramps include pain in the abdomen, pressure in the abdomen and pain in the hips, lower back, and inner thighs as well. However, if the cramps are severe you might have an upset stomach, loose stools and vomiting too.

Three out of four women experience menstrual pains and every one out of 10 women experiences severe cramps. Here are few remedies that might help in relieving the pain:

Exercise, brisk walking or any type of physical activity can help to ease your belly pain as by being physically active your body pumps more blood, which helps in releasing endorphins to counteract the prostaglandins and reduce your cramps.
Apply heat on the lower abdomen or the area where you feel the pain as it helps to relax the contracting muscles in your uterus.
Improve your diet by reducing fat and increasing vegetables. However, avoid foods that contain caffeine and salt.
Take a warm bath as it may also provide some relief.
Add ginger in your food as it helps in lowering the levels of the pain-causing prostaglandins.
Drink chamomile tea at least three times a day.
Take fish oil supplements, vitamin B1 or both.
Make sure to get enough vitamin D.
Have an orgasm as it releases endorphins which has a pain-relieving effect and helps in boosting your mood as well.
Include more dietary magnesium such as dry almonds and boiled spinach as it helps to ease the pain of cramps.
Acupuncture also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Take a safe painkiller to reduce pain.
Birth control pills may help relieve painful cramps, but they do come with side effects which may include spotting, breast tenderness, nausea and low sex drive.
Refrain yourself from smoking and drinking alcohol.
Finally, have appropriate rest.
Note: If you still do not get any relief despite trying some of these options then you must visit your doctor to rule out more serious health issues as the menstrual cramps are sometimes caused or worsened by other conditions and any sort of medications for such cramps are to be taken after consulting a Gynaecologist.

How to Get Relief From Severe Menstrual Cramps

Arachnoiditis is a sort of inflammation of the defensive layers of the spinal canal. You can envisage it as the scar tissues that enlarge in the arachnoid lining. Also the lining can turn out to be inflamed due to the recurrent intervention on the spine, a lot of surgeries can lead to the scarring, for instance. It can also expand due to definite type of the spinal infections as well as due to the chemicals of epidural steroid injections, particularly if these kinds of chemicals get into the spinal fluid.

As the disease increases day by day, the symptoms also become bigger in magnitude. A lot of people who are suffering from this type of problems are incapable of working. Further due to Arachnoiditis the following symptoms are likely to happen

Grounds of the nerve roots to plod together
The nerve pain
The numbness
The tingling
Radio Frequency rhizotomy is primarily effectual on the joint pain. Patients who are good candidates for the RF have the pain whilst they're doing activities that increase the stress of the spine. Also the RF blocks all the nerves around the joint from sending the pain signals to the brain, as well as that pain free period normally lasts around one year. In that time, patients have to learn regarding the postural correction as well as the good body mechanics. RF presents the patients an option to get back their mobility as well as provide training regarding the movements of their daily lives with the less pain.

The details of information about drugs which might help arachnoiditis:
There are lots of pain management treatments available. Further patients might try the medications to find out the pain relief. A number of options are:

The NSAIDs ( one kind of the anti-inflammatory drugs)
The corticosteroids kind of drugs
The anti-spasm type of the drugs
Also an anti-convulsant drugs as well as
The narcotic type of the pain relievers
A number of these types of medications might be given with a spinal pump. That is the little device which is entrenched under the skin and it then distributes the medication straightly to the inflamed area.
Also the patients might also take the spinal cord stimulation. On the other hand, the natural type of the treatments can assist, also, as well as it can often be utilized in conjunction with the prescribed type of the medication. You can also consult with your doctor about your options regarding your treatments.

Arachnoiditis - Pain Management Techniques For It!

Vaginismus is a condition characterized by significant pain in the vagina generally during sexual intercourse. This pain occurs on penetration due to the contraction of the vaginal muscles.

Causes

The exact cause of Vaginismus is not exactly known to the doctors. But some researchers suggests that the pain might result from severe anxiety or illogical fears before sex.

Vaginismus can be primary or secondary depending on the concerned woman s previous sexual experiences. Vaginismus can be linked to an earlier sexually painful experience, sexual trauma or psychological factors. In some cases, the pain tends to exist without any direct physical cause. The causes of the pain might vary from women to women and might occur in some cases with only one specific partner and not with others.

Sometimes the pain might stem from underlying infections or any other underlying complications.

The symptoms of Vaginismus are as follows:

Severe pain during intercourse.

Severe pain during insertion of tampons or during any medical check-ups.

The following treatments can be useful to treat Vaginismus:

If the pain arises due to anxiety or fear, counselling sessions can help you to a remedy.

If the pain arises whenever something penetrates the vaginal walls, progressive desensitization can be useful to treat the pain. The process aims to loosen the vaginal muscles so that you don t experience any pain during sexual intercourse.

Kegel exercises (at least 20 of them) can help in the initial stage to relax the vaginal muscles. After you exercise for a few days, you should try inserting one finger inside your vagina while doing the exercises. Try doing it gently and if it still hurts, try doing it with a lubricating jelly. This continuous procedure will help in the contraction of the vaginal muscles which eventually relax.

Vaginismus - Things You Should Be Aware of 

Problems with the arteries and veins present in the hands or legs can lead to vascular disorders. The arteries carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body in order to deliver nutrients and oxygen. The veins carry the blood back to the heart, after the nutrients have been used up. If these blood vessels of the arteries or veins become blocked or narrowed, it can lead to a vascular blockage.

A vascular blockage that occurs in the hands or legs comes under the category of Peripheral Artery Disease or PAD. These type of disorders are less common in the upper extremities of the arms or hands than in the lower extremities of legs. Few of the signs for the same are:

Pain and difficulty in movement due to decreased blood flow
Numbness or weakness of leg or fingertips
Sores on the toes or feet
If the blockage is deep, symptoms of redness, swelling, extreme pain or cramping can be experienced
Abnormal color changes in the fingertips
Ulcers or wounds that don t heal
Skin sensitivity problems when in cold temperatures
How can it be diagnosed?
The blockage can be detected by various methods namely-

Physical Examination   Your doctor may find decreased pulse at armpit, wrist or fingers, full veins, masses, wounds or gangrene.
Doppler or Ultrasound examination to determine the blood flow in the arteries and veins
MRI Scan of the affected area to pay special attention to the blood vessels
Cold Stress Test
Arteriography to show clear blood vessel details
Angiography to map blockages and narrowing of the arteries
What are the Risk Factors for Peripheral Artery Disease?
An individual is at risk for developing vascular blockages in the hands or legs if one or more of the following factors are present:

Smoking
Diabetes
Heredity Factors   A personal or family history of blood vessel disease
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Aging   People aged above 50 years and older are more prone to vascular blockage
Can it be treated?
Treatments for vascular blockage can vary depending on the age, cause of the blockage, intensity and overall well-being.

Treatments can include:

Self-care   Reducing risk factors and making lifestyle changes to quit smoking, sedentary life or diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol management can reverse symptoms of vascular disease.
Medications   A variety of drugs can be prescribed to lower the risk and progression of narrowing blood vessels or prevent blood clotting.
Interventional Procedures   Minimally invasive surgery like saloon angioplasty, stenting or removal of artery plaque build-up.
Surgery   If the blockage is severe, surgery may be performed to lessen the vessel narrowing, reconstruct the artery or tie it off, depending on the circumstances.

Pain in the Hands or Legs!

Panchakarma is an ayurvedic technique which is used to detoxify the body, boost the immune system and restore the balance in the body. Due to lack of exercise and a poor diet, the waste material generated by the body is not effectively discharged. This causes accumulation of toxins in the body that can result in diseases.

Panchakarma can be used to treat and heal the pain in the joints and the spine. There are specific treatments in panchakarma that targets these regions, they are:

1. Abhyanga - Abhyanga is a technique where warm oil is used to cover the entire body. The oil is then gently massaged so that it can penetrate the underlying tissues. It is used to lubricate the joints, muscle toning and to increase blood supply around nerve endings.

 2. Pindasweda - In this technique hot cotton bags consisting of herbs, rice, and sand or medical powder are used to massage the body. This rejuvenating therapy induces perspiration in the body by which the herbs and the heat penetrates into the body. It is used to treat problems of the joints such as gout, arthritis, and sciatica.

 3. Upanaha - A combination of herbal medicine is applied to the affected part and then covered with medicinal leaves. The herbs help in easing the muscles and tendons of the affected part. It relieves pain, reduces swellings and improves mobility in the joint.

 4. Kati vista - In this treatment, medicated oil is pooled into a collar made from dough and then placed on the lower back for a specific amount of time. It strengthens the lower back, lubricates the spine and acts as a muscle pain reliever.

Soothe Your Joint and Spine Pain with Ayurvedic Panchakarma

When is your pain chronic?

Your pain is chronic if it last for more than a period of six months. Chronic pain is a long-term pain whose nature can vary from mild to excruciating, and it may trouble you either continuously or at short and regular intervals. Chronic pain is so dangerous that it does not only cause discomfort and inconvenience but also robs you entirely of your capacity to work for a long time.

Chronic pain can occur in a number of organs of the human body like head, joints, back, shoulders, neck etc. In fact, pain in any part of your body can turn into chronic pain. Here are a few symptoms that can help you identify if what you are going through is, in fact, chronic pain:

- persistent and severe body pain

- burning sensation accompanied by the body pain

- fatigue and sleeplessness

- weak immune system

- stiff and sore joints

The 4 types of chronic pain disorders that you should be aware of are:

1. Nociceptive pain

The pain that affects the soft tissues of the body such as the skin and the muscles or the organs that have sensory nerves present in them is called nociceptive pain. The sensory nerves, known as nociceptors can detect the stimuli of pain and send information to the brain and the spinal cord for interpretation. The pain could be either somatic (originating in the outer body) or visceral (originating in the internal organs).

2. Neuropathic pain

This pain is caused when the nerves stop functioning normally. It is caused due to nerve disturbances that result in pain stimuli being spontaneously transmitted to the brain and spinal cord. If you are suffering from this type of chronic pain disorder, you will feel a sharp, shooting and stabbing pain. Neuropathic pain can also be caused due to the formation of neuroma (abnormal growth of the nerve tissue).

3. Psychogenic pain

The pain that is caused by psychological disorders like depression and anxiety is known as psychogenic pain. Sometimes this pain can be accompanied by physical complications like fatigue, body pain and muscle weakness.

4. Idiopathic pain

The pain that exists even though there is no physical or psychological cause for it is known as idiopathic pain. This pain is more common in people who have suffered from a pre-existing painful disorder. Some common examples of idiopathic pain are fibromyalgia (intense pain all over the body) and tmj disorders (pain in the jaw area).

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'consult'.
Related Tip: Why does PAIN occur? Understand the Mechanism of Pain

Your Pain is Chronic if it Falls Under These 4 Types of Chronic Pain Disorders!

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