Women have something of a rough deal when it comes to periods. If they suffer from painful periods, PMS, or cramping, they feel that they’ve just got to suck it up. After all, millions of women have dealt with these issues before.
Well, it might be time to change that thinking. The body’s very well-designed. Cramping might be natural, but severe pain is not. If you’re battling with period pain, you need to see your gynecologist to rule out a more severe condition.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, for example, results in painful periods and heavy bleeding. It’s important to rule out potential medical causes for the pain here.
Once you’ve done that, it’s time to start looking into how you can reduce your pain levels. With the rise in popularity of CBD oil in recent years, it’s natural to wonder if CBD can help menstrual cramp as it helps so many other things: See all CBD oil benefits here.
In this post, we’ll look at using CBD oil for menstrual cramps. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence saying it’s helpful. Is there any scientific evidence, though? Let’s dive right in.
Symptoms of Period Pain
The symptoms vary from one woman to the next. The most commonly experienced symptoms are:
- Cramping
- Pain in the lower back
- Pain that radiates down your legs
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Irritability
- Headaches
- Lethargy
What Causes Period Pain?
The villain of this piece is cyclic fatty acids known as Prostaglandins. Prostaglandins, in this case, control the contraction of the uterus. The contractions are necessary to dislodge the menstrual blood.
Prostaglandins are also used in the body’s healing processes. They cause inflammation at the site of an injury to promote healing. Women with a higher level of prostaglandins will experience more intense cramping and pain.
There are many conditions that could also cause period pain. If you’re battling with painful cramps, get checked out for:
- Endometriosis: This is where uterine tissue starts growing outside your womb.
- Adenomyosis and Fibroids: Both of these are growths in the womb. They’re usually non-cancerous.
- Ectopic Pregnancy: This is where the baby is implanted in the fallopian tubes rather than in the womb itself.
- IUDs: Most women tolerate IUDs well. Some, however, have an adverse reaction to them. In these cases, the body sees it as a foreign object that it must reject.
- Ovarian Cysts: These can grow quite big and cause a great deal of pain.
- Narrow Cervix: This is something that you’re born with or not. There’s not much that you can do about this.
Ways to Treat Period Pain
Most period pain is simple enough to treat at home. If you experience the following symptoms, though, it’s important to see your doctor:
- Cramps that go on longer than usual with higher levels of pain
- Where pain is very different or much worse than normal
- If you need to change out a pad or tampon more than once hourly
- If there are also signs of fever, aching, and chills
- When you might be pregnant
Now let’s look at some home remedies.
Home Remedies to Try
Magnesium
This study monitored the effect of magnesium and magnesium plus Vitamin B6 on the symptoms of PMS and menstrual pain. The results were positive. Women taking the magnesium experienced a reduction in symptoms.
Women taking Magnesium and Vitamin B6 experienced the most improvement overall.
This remedy makes sense because magnesium helps to soothe muscle cramps. Vitamin B6 helps to relax the body and can so deal with the psychological symptoms of PMS.
Soaking in a warm bath with a cup of Epsom salts in it can boost magnesium levels and help with the pain.
Get Enough Sleep
A lack of sleep heightens irritability and sensitivity to pain. By making sure that you get enough sleep at night, you’re helping your body heal properly. Think about skipping that night out once in a while and going to be early instead.
A Hot Water Bottle
A hot water bottle could be your best friend when you’re in pain. Hold the hot water bottle over the abdomen to provide consistent warmth. The warmth should help to relax the muscles and ease the cramping.
Gentle Exercise
We don’t expect you to run a marathon. A gentle walk, on the other hand, could help you to relieve some of the worst of the cramping.
CBD Oil and Period Pain
What about using CBD oil for period pain? There are a few good indicators that this could work:
- The endocannabinoid system in the body helps to keep the endocrine system in good shape. If your hormones are out of whack, CBD could help to regulate them. Once your hormones are balanced, the pain should fade.
- The calming effect of the oil can reduce irritation and anxiety. If you’re more relaxed, you’re less likely to experience as much pain during cramping.
- The analgesic effect of the oil will come in handy here. You can take it internally to reduce pain or apply directly to the abdomen to soothe cramping.
- The anti-inflammatory effects of CBD could well be the biggest drawcard here. CBD helps to reduce the levels of prostaglandins and other inflammatory agents.
Cannabinoids and Your Hormones
According to researchers, the endocannabinoid system has a regulatory effect on your body’s endocrine system. At present, we don’t fully understand the interaction between the two. That said, it’s clear that the endocannabinoid system regulates the hormones of the body.
Taking CBD oil orally could, therefore, help you to get your hormones back into balance.
Anxiety Begone
Isn’t PMS fun? If you tend to get very irritable before your period, or while you have it, CBD oil might be a good idea. Studies show that CBD is excellent for treating anxiety.
If you feel stressed out before or during your period, then CBD oil could help you to smooth fraught nerves.
For stress relief, it’s best to take CBD oil orally.
Analgesic Effect
Bad cramping during your period can make it impossible to do much. Traditional medicine advises that you take an Ibuprofen to dull the pain. The good news is that researchers have found that CBD is a highly effective pain reliever.
For the analgesic effect, you have two options. You can take the CBD orally or apply it to your abdomen. Want to get even more pain relief? Apply the oil to the abdomen, give it a few minutes to soak in, and then apply your hot water bottle.
Anti-Inflammatory Effects
This study dug up something exciting about CBD. It turns out that CBD is a potent anti-inflammatory. Taken internally, it can help to mop up prostaglandins. By doing this, it reduces inflammation and the severity of cramping.
Does the Application Method Matter?
We’d love to say, “No,” but that’s simply not true. You can buy CBD in several forms. Here are some of the more common forms for period pain:
- Suppositories: How effective these are, though, is open to question. In theory, CBD applied this way should work faster. We wonder, though, how effective this method would be. Does it reach up far enough for you to get relief?
- Drops: Drops with CBD is a little trickier. To get the very best results, you should place the drops under your tongue. Wait around about a minute before swallowing. CBD isn’t as well-absorbed in the stomach. Swallowing it makes it harder to digest.
- Gummies: CBD gummies have become very popular. Here again, though, the problem is that most of the CBD is being swallowed. We’d also be concerned about the dosage. Make sure that you know how much CBD is in a gummy before swallowing it.
- Capsules: Using capsules is a great way to control your dosage. If possible, break the capsule open so that you place the oil under your tongue.
- Vaping: Vaping will deliver pain relief faster than other methods. On the downside, there have been concerns about vaping damaging lung tissue. We’d avoid it.
- Creams: Creams are a nice option for applying topically. You can also apply the oil directly, but a cream helps it go a bit further.
Potential Concerns
The cramps are usually as a result of overactive prostaglandin production. What you should wonder, though, is what’s caused the prostaglandin production to go into overdrive. It’s a good idea to go and have a full checkup with your gynecologist.
That way, you can rule out more severe conditions.
It’s also essential to choose a high-quality product from a reputable company. Some of the CBD products on the shelves contain too little CBD to be useful. There’s also the possibility that the products haven’t been adequately refined. These products might have high levels of THC in them.
One further concern is that you must monitor your dosage correctly. You could, for example, have a gummy and then apply the cream to your abdomen. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you are careful to keep track of the dosage from all of those products.
What’s the Verdict?
CBD oil could well be the answer to painful menstrual cramps. It has anti-inflammatory properties, analgesic properties, and anti-spasmodic properties. It can also take the edge off if you’re very anxious. Overall, it’s an excellent alternative to Ibuprofen with none of the drug’s negative side-effects.
FAQs About CBD for Menstrual Cramps
Question: How can CBD oil assist in period pain?
Answer: CBD oil can assist in period pain because of its anti-inflammatory effects. CBD helps to reduce the level of prostaglandins and other inflammatory agents.
Question: What are the symptoms of period pain?
Answer: Some of the symptoms of period pain are cramping, pain in the lower back, vomiting, and nausea.
Question: What are the causes of period pain?
Answer: One of the causes of period pain is cyclic fatty acids known as Prostaglandins. Prostaglandins control the contraction of the uterus. The contractions are necessary to dislodge the menstrual blood.
Question: What are the ways to treat period pain?
Answer: Some of the ways to treat period pain are taking magnesium, getting enough sleep, drinking some hot water and exercise.
Question: Can CBD treat anxiety?
Answer: Many studies show that CBD is excellent in treating anxiety.
Question: What are the concerns in using CBD oil to treat period pain?
Answer: You should always buy CBD oil from a reputable company. Some of the CBD products on the shelves contain too little CBD to be useful. There’s also the possibility that the products haven’t been adequately refined. These products might have high levels of THC in them.
