From the article: What are the Medical Treatments for Menstrual Cramps?
Many women experience painful menstrual cramps during menstruation. If you experience cramps during menstruation, what have you found helps you get relief from menstrual cramps (other than medication)? A warm bath? Exercise? Share your tips.
Cramps
- I can usually calm my cramps down by watching tv and not thinking about it. I also find that eating bananas helps because of the potassium.
- —Guest Macen
Heating Pad
- When my cramps are so bad that I can't function, I curl up in bed with a heating pad on my abdomen. Not only does it ease the pain, but I usually am able to fall asleep. By the time I wake up, I feel much better.
- —Guest redd
A Warm Bath is Heaven
- I have always had great success with a hot bath. Of course you can't stay in the bathtub forever so heating pads are good too.
- —khayesrn
Visualizations
- I used hypnotherapy to deal with childbirth (I highly recommend 'hypnobirthing'!), and find that the visualizations I used can still work with cramps. I close my eyes, breathe deeply from my diaphragm, and imagine that the cramps are 'warm energy' instead of pain. I also have my husband rub my back and take warm baths. And if that doesn't work, Advil to the rescue!
- —Guest Elysse
