AndreiaWhen I was growing up, girls would sometimes tell me they didn’t want to go to PE classes or exercise or leave their house because they were on period. I never understood. Until one year I endured a tremendous amount of stress, didn’t sleep well, didn’t exercise much, didn’t eat very well either, and had a lot of muscle pains and aches (shoulders, neck, lower back tension). I felt my body was off balance and felt a general physical and emotional discomfort. This was before I got into TCM more seriously and before I started practising the things that I’m going to talk about today. That year, I finally understood what the girls meant when I was younger. It could indeed be very painful, to the point where you cannot move or don’t want to move and just want to be in bed all day. And saying it feels tiring is an understatement, it’s more like you feel super sick, you feel fatigue and lethargy and an extremely painful discomfort, and you really don’t wana do anything, much less to exercise… I got it. I understood, unfortunately. Also, not to make you feel gross, but for the record, the blood was also dark, instead of the normal light red that I used to have. I later understood that this was also not so healthy. Darkness in the fluids meant it took a while for it to come out and be pushed out, it was sitting somewhere, stagnant, and so it didn’t flow as naturally as it should. And darkness in blood in TCM terms is not very healthy, as it means it was kind of stuck somewhere, instead of flowing freely and naturally, like it would in a healthy body with good blood flow.
After that one awful year, I realised something was wrong, or I was doing something wrong and that something needed to change. So I finally pulled myself together, and decided that I could no longer endure this unnecessary pain. I went to several TCM practitioners that I knew from my family, who helped me treat the pain in the longer term, and gave me advice on how to avoid this in the future. Through this process, I learned a lot about the to-dos and not-to-dos in order to live a healthy life as a woman in an enjoyable and painless way, comfortably in your body 🙂 And YES, that does mean without suffering the once a month painful or uncomfortable day or two or three!
And I’d like to share the dos and don’ts with you today.
Why do period cramps happen?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), menstrual cramps occur when there are changes between Qi and blood in the Chong and Ren meridians (冲任二脉, Chōng1 rèn4 èr4 mài4). When there are imbalances in qi and blood, such as deficiency or stagnation in either, it can cause pain and discomfort during menstruation. This imbalance could be caused by poor lifestyle habits, such as high levels of stress, lack of exercise, inadequate rest or sleep, unhealthy diets, consuming alcohol, ingesting cold foods and drinks, or staying in cold environments over extended periods of time.
Also, from a TCM perspective, according to Shang Han Lun (傷寒論, “Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases”, by Zhang Zhongjing), when there is excessive cold accumulated in the body, over time it can travel to a weaker part of the body, blocking natural flow of blood and qi, and makes it more prone to pain, fatigue, and weakness. Our common saying is “Whenever there is blockage, there will be pain” (不通则痛, Bù4 tōng1 zé2 tòng4).
But, is it possible to avoid period cramps naturally?
Yes, absolutely!
Good news is, you can actually avoid or reduce period cramps by doing the right things in between periods, and taking care of your body!
Here’s 10 things you can do in general to take care of your body before and after periods, as general prevention of period pain:
- Keep stress levels low, and a Healthy Mindset
High stress levels can cause Qi stagnation or blood stasis, which can in turn worsen menstrual cramps. Also, mood swings can weaken the Qi and blood circulations. Try to avoid possible sources of emotional conflicts, and maintain a peaceful mind.
So it’s good to learn to regularly relax your body physically, wherever you feel tension. Here’s a few ways you can try to achieve that:
Stretching as well as progressive muscle relaxation and other relaxation techniques can help the body relax and thus reduce stagnation, stasis and pain in the lower abdominal. Good areas to regularly stretch out are: iliopsoas (the two front side muscles at the top of your legs where it connects to the hips), legs (calf, hamstring, thighs), lower back (cat cow pose, cobra, child pose).
Qigong and mindfulness can also help de-stress mentally and thus increase qi and blood flow to the body.
Yoga is something I’ve recently started practising. Not only is it good for general health, but also it’s great for relaxing the body and being at peace with yourself.
- Exercise regularly
Lack of exercise and other poor lifestyle habits can also contribute to Qi stagnation, blood stasis or Cold accumulating in the body, which in turn can cause worsened period pains.
Exercising regularly helps the blood to flow through the body naturally. An improved circulation naturally improves circulation to the uterus, bringing back balance of qi and blood.
Core Strengthening exercises can help increase blood flow to the abdominal area and thus help reduce menstrual pain. Good exercises to do are: crunches, bicycle crunches, plank, bridging, and sit-ups. It is recommended to do these 3-5 times a week. However, to begin a habit, you may choose to do it only once a week, or pick only one of the above and do just a few minutes a day, and then gradually build up to a regular habit.
However, during menstruation, it’s best to avoid strenuous activities and vigorous exercises, or intense workouts, as overtiredness can weaken the kidney, Qi and blood.
- Quality Sleep
This may not come as a surprise to you, but sleeping well and having a good night rest is crucial to overall health, and specifically period health.
Overtiredness can affect the kidneys, Qi and blood, which can cause imbalance and worsen the period pains. So do ensure to get enough rest, to prevent overtiredness.
According to the Chinese Body Clock, the best time to be asleep is between 11pm and 5am, as this is when the gallbladder (11pm to 1am), the liver (1am to 3am) and the lungs (3am to 5am) are detoxed and regenerated. Sleeping poorly or going to bed too late can also cause unrest in the liver and gallbladder, as they won’t have a chance to repair and build blood cells. And in female health, the liver and kidneys are highly connected, and they are both interlinked with menstrual health. If the liver is heaty or in excess toxins, it may cause imbalance to the rest of the body.
Interestingly, a recent study has also shown that the best time to go to bed is between 10pm to 11pm. And going either too early or too late has been related to adverse cardiovascular health.
So make sure you sleep well and preferably early, as good rest will rebalance the liver, which in turn increases menstrual health.
- Hot Water Foot Bath
Something that my parent and grandparents always did and recommended me doing growing up was bathing the feet in hot water (泡脚, Pào4 jiǎo3). This can also help reduce period pain when done regularly. I know it sounds strange, but you essentially bathe your feet (up to ankle level or slightly above). What you do is you boil hot water, and pour it into a bucket, and dip your feet into them, until your skin feels comfortable enough to bathe your whole two feet in them. Make sure that you’re taking a bath in hot/warm water (ie. Just below burning level), and add more hot water if the water gets a bit cold or not warm enough. The whole point is to bathe it in hot water. You bathe your feet for about 20mins or until you feel your body slightly hot/warm and stop just before you sweat (you stop when you feel you’re about to sweat). It typically helps to increase blood circulation, which is important when it comes to periods, as it can help to reduce abdominal pain or discomfort during periods. This practice has been used by millions of Chinese people, as it is a good general health practice to do from time to time, for general maintenance. This hot water foot bath practice can also help you have a good night’s sleep 🙂 If you feel your body is a bit weak or you easily feel cold, you can also add boiled ginger hot water to your hot foot bath, to help increase blood flow, remove damp or cold, and improve your immune system.
This is recommended for people who tend to feel cold or have poor circulation.
This is not recommended for people who tend to feel hot easily, especially in their palms or feet. This is not recommended to do during menstruation (especially the first 3 days of period).
- Natural Teas and Supplements
One hot drink I find really useful is goji berries (枸杞子, gou2 qi3 zi) with Chinese dates (红枣, hong2 zao3), especially during winter, and between menstruations. You can also add Longan (桂圆, Gui4 Yuan2) to it too. This is a natural tea you can easily make at home to drink as general prevention of period pains and cramps! This is good for the liver, and helps replenish blood. I have it regularly before and after periods – any time of the month is fine if taken in small amounts, but preferably not during the first 3 days of the period.
You can simply add a few dried goji berries and Chinese dates into a mug of hot water, wait for it to cool down and drink it warm. Alternatively, there are also ready-made packed teas you can make, by just adding hot water to it.
PS – this goji and red dates tea is also good for men, as it’s very high on antioxidants and it helps with male fertility, increasing sperm count.
- Herbal Medicine
There’s a herbal medicine formula in TCM (called Wu ji bai feng wan) known for helping reduce period pain, discomfort and cramps, and balancing menstrual health, as it replenishes qi and blood. This formula contains a key ingredient called Angelica Sinensis (Radix Angelica Sinensis), also known as female ginseng (当归, Dang1 Gui1), which helps with general female sexual health, which in turn reduces menstruation cramps. This herbal medicine is best to take after your period.
We are currently developing our own formula. Sign up to our waiting list if you’d like to hear from us when it’s available.
- Moxibustion
Moxibustion is the use of burning a herbal medicine known as Chinese mugwort (艾草, Ai4 Cao3), close to the skin (until you feel warmth, and sometimes a burning sensation). It benefits those who are prone to cold or damp symptoms or diseases. It gives the body the heat and warmth it may be missing, and provides the body with Yang energy when in deficit. For people who have period pains, it is good to apply external treatment using moxibustion to the abdominal and lower back areas, to improve and regulate qi and blood circulation to the area.
This is recommended to do while not on period. And it is not recommended to do moxibustion while on period.
The best time to do moxibustion is San Fu Tian (“三伏天”). San Fu Tian is a period of the hottest 30 days in the summer, when Yang energy is at its highest of the year. In a separate post, I will cover how San Fu Tian can help increase your body’s natural ability to regenerate itself, by improving qi and blood circulation. Doing moxibustion on these specific San Fu Tian periods (3 different sessions during these 30 hottest days in the summer) will help the body stay healthy and balanced during winter times. This is known as treating Winter Disease During Summer. And TCM practitioners believe that doing this for 3 consecutive years can have a positive long-term impact on health.
- Drink warm and eat warm
Drink warm water. I cannot recount the times that people (my friends and waiters included!) have laughed at me for asking for hot water in a restaurant or cafe instead of room temperature or cold water. But consuming warm foods and staying away from cold foods is essentially one of the key points in the Theory of Cold Damage Shang1 Han2 Lun4, which is one of the basic beliefs in TCM. The principle is simple. Cold (han2) that stays in the body, and accumulated over time, turns into sickness in the long-run, and ailments can take many forms – it can be pain in the womb, or pain in the stomach, bad digestion, or headaches, or lowered immune system, or in cases where it’s been left untaken care of for too long, it can become lethal like cancer and other critical illnesses. So, I don’t care if people laugh at me, I know what’s healthy, and I care for my health more than I care for people’s ridicule, teasing or uninformed jokes. I still ask for hot water. And I try to steer clear of cold water, icy drinks (it’s so common to add ice on fizzy drinks, coffee or alcoholic drink in western countries), or icy cold foods (even though I love the sweet in the ice-creams) as much as possible. The result is: I don’t really get bad period cramps, and maybe those who laugh at me do…
As well as drinking warm fluids (instead of cold), it’s equally important to ingest warm foods, literally, instead of cold. Eat warm foods (cooked, boiled, baked, or even micro-waved) and stay away from cold foods (cold pasta, cold soup, cold or icy smoothies). If you must eat a salad, then at least eat at room temperature, instead of eating it cold or straight from the fridge, or add some warm foods to it.
- Eat a healthy diet
Consuming cold foods and drinks can lead to Cold accumulating in the body, which can worsen period cramps (and other cold-generated symptoms/ailments). Similarly, drinking alcohol, eating spicy or oily or processed foods, or having an unbalanced diet, can also cause Heat, Dampness or Cold to accumulate in the body, which creates imbalance in the body’s energy flow (stagnation or blockages) and can also cause menstrual cramps to worsen.
So it’s best to avoid alcohol and heaty foods (such as spicy, fried, oily, processed, sweets/candy), cold foods (literally cold temperature foods), and raw food. This could be hard for those who take pleasure in eating and love a variety of food tastes. But in TCM terms, it’s better to keep a lighter taste, with a nutritious and balanced diet.
- Stay warm
Similar to eating warm foods and drinking warm fluids, staying warm is equally important, especially during menstruation. Staying in a cold environment for many hours can lead to Cold building up in the body, which again in turn can worsen menstrual cramps (Shang1 han2 lun4).
So try not to be exposed to cold air without protection for too long. Ie. If it’s winter and it’s cold, wear a damn coat to protect your body from accumulating cold, because if cold enters the body and doesn’t get expelled, it will stay in the body and gather in the weakest parts, whether it’s the womb, or the stomach, the spleen, or the guts, or the kidneys, or the lungs. And in some cases, you may only know years and years and years later, when the doctor tells you you have a severe condition of some sort…
So it’s best to try and minimize contact with cold things, cold items or cold air or water. When washing hands, preferably wash warm also, especially during menstruation. Also, try to avoid sitting on cold floor or cold surfaces, as cold would travel to the womb and potentially stay there and cause trouble (ie. Pain or illness) later on.
Above are 10 natural things you can do to avoid period cramps ahead of period arriving and after it’s finished (in between periods).
How do you reduce pain when you have period cramps without pills?
Now, the almighty period has arrived and you still have some cramps? Regardless of whether they’re minor discomfort or major cramp/pain that feels like you’re dying, here’s 10 natural solutions you can use to minimise or even relieve the pain immediately during periods, without the need of any chemical painkillers like paracetamol:
- Ginger and brown sugar Formula.
Boil ginger and brown sugar with water. It may be slightly spicy or taste quite strong, but do drink it while still very warm (temperature should be nearly piping hot, but without risking burning yourself, so just below burning level), for best effects! If this is done right, you should feel period pain go away within a matter of minutes. For more guidance, see how to make the ginger formula at home.
Don’t want to make it yourself? Get powdered/soluble ginger that you can make instantly (as quick as an instant coffee!) – simply add hot water, a tea spoon of brown sugar and drink it while warm!
- Heat pack
Use a belly warming heat pack for immediate relief, especially if you feel cold. You can place the heated area in the front abdominal area or at the lower back area, or alternate between the two. Warmth will help soothe the pain.
This is not suitable if you generally feel warm, or easily feel hot, or feel period pain with a burning sensation.
- Hot Water Bottle
Place a Hot Water Bottle on your lower abdomen or lower back. Simply fill in the bottle with hot water, and start using it. It works for immediate relief, as it provides warmth and thus blood flows towards that area.
This is not suitable if you generally feel warm/hot, or easily/generally feel hot already, or feel period pain with a hot/burning sensation.
- Lower Back Support
If you have lower back pain during this period, get this lower back support belt to ease the pressure and help keep the heat around your waist. You can close it tighter, if you feel you need more support. You can also use this in combination with the hot water bottle. You can have the hot water bottle inside the waist support, to keep the warmth, or to keep the hot water bottle tighter towards your skin, making it even warmer.
- Cold feet and bad circulation?
In addition to local warmth and support, keeping your feet warm would also help keep the whole body warm. Similar to hot water foot baths, you can use a dry method of warming up your feet, using a Hot water bottle on your feet, to help improve blood circulation in general. And once the body is warmer and circulation improved, period cramp should naturally lessen. This can also be used regularly, for general maintenance, to warm up the body and prevent cold.
- Acupuncture
It has been suggested that regular acupuncture sessions over a period of time can significantly reduce period pains. One study shows that this is because acupuncture can act as a natural anti-inflammatory analgesic. One review concluded that acupuncture can be more effective at reducing menstrual pain than anti-inflammatory drugs.
Acupuncture can be done during period as well as while not in period for regular general maintenance, as it is believed to stimulate and evoke the activation of multiple central neuronal pathways, which can change certain physiological conditions.
I do recommend you try it! Of course it’s important to find the right expert to help you and guide you through this process, especially if this would be your first experience and if acupuncture is an entirely new concept to you. If you email me with the subject title “TCM Doctor Recommendation”, along with your location and full postcode, I’d be more than happy to recommend you a reliable TCM practitioner!
- Acupressure
If you’re in pain right now and haven’t got any ginger with you, there are certain acupressure points you can press to help relieve period pain almost immediately. I cover this in a separate post. It is of course best if you apply this in conjunction with other natural solutions above (ie. Hot Ginger Tea, and placing a hot water bottle or a heat pad around your lower back/abdomen area).
- Golf Ball on lower back to relieve tension
A few months ago, I had some persistent pain in my lower back, for a few days leading up to my period. I used a hot water bottle to help me relieve some pain. But I realised it needed more than just warming up, it wasn’t just cold, the muscles were tense. And I realised the pain probably came from localised tension also. So I decided to relieve the tension, using a golf ball, by leaning my lower back muscles onto it, against the wall. When massaging and gently rolling my lower back muscles on the golf ball against the wall, I started feeling warm, my body heated up, from the additional blood flow increase. By the end of 30mins of using a golf ball pressuring against my lower back muscles, I felt hot. After that, I felt no more lower back pain or lower belly cramp. You see, the lower back muscles are connected to the lower abdominal area. So, quite often, releasing tension at the lower back also helps relieve cramps at the front abdomen area 🙂 Because the nerves at the back, especially along the spine, are connected to the muscles and organs in the front. So, if you feel tension in the lower back, before or during menstruation, it’s worth trying a golf ball or tennis ball or a foam roller on your lower back to release the tension.
- Stay Warm, eat warm, drink warm
Again, stay warm, eat warm foods and drink warm fluids as mentioned previously. During the period of menstruation more than any other time of the month, avoid coldness, as Cold and Cold-Dampness can lead to Qi stagnation and blood stasis. So, try to stay away from cold and wind, avoid exposing your body or limbs to cold and windy places/environments, or getting wet in the rain, or washing hands/feet or showering in cold water, and avoid cold foods/drinks or touching cold things.
This would be the most vulnerable time of the month (where yin is at its highest), where the body is more susceptible for Cold to enter and cause more imbalance. So, do keep warm in all the ways possible 🙂
- Deep breathing
Studies have shown that slow deep breathing can help reduce pain, and relieve period cramps. In other words, slow deep breathing can act as a natural analgesic or painkiller! And not only is it natural, but also it’s free! 🙂
To breathe deeply, simply take slow deep breaths, breathe in through your nose till you feel your lungs are full, and breathe out all the air through your mouth. Ie. Breathe in slowly for 5-6 seconds (count to 5 or 6), hold it for 1-2 seconds, and breathe out slowly while counting to 6-8. Do this for 3-5mins. You may also want to close your eyes while deep breathing, to help solely focus on your breath.
So here you have it! As mentioned, period cramps are entirely avoidable. So please don’t go on any longer thinking you have to suffer every once a month! Because you really don’t! Feel free to try any of the above and let me know how you got on.
Hopefully you find the above tips useful. Please let me know in the comments how you get on, what you found useful, what worked and what didn’t work for you. If you’d like to find out more about my experience with TCM, please feel free to subscribe and stay informed!
What have you tried so far and what things have worked for you?