Menstruation is a normal physiological process that occurs throughout the reproductive age of girls and women. Due to the peculiarities of this process, the sensitivity of the female body changes.
Girls for whom menstruation has become a habit are well aware that pain during this period is the norm. However, atypical pain often occurs. For example, your legs hurt during menstruation, and not just your lower abdomen. It is necessary to understand whether this is normal or does it indicate some problems.
There are many reasons why legs hurt during menstruation. Let's look at the most common of them.
There are many other reasons that are not directly related to the female cycle.
For young girls experiencing their first period, leg pain may be normal. The reason is that nerve endings and blood vessels in adolescents may not have time to grow as quickly as the skeleton. The onset of menstruation only aggravates the situation due to fluctuations in hormone levels.
If a teenager has pain that goes from the spine to the legs, it may be because the uterus has bends or other minor deviations from the norm.
Pain can simply arise from standing on your feet for a long time. Each organism will react differently to the same factors. The more estrogens and prostaglandins, the more sensitive the body will be to pain.
It is not enough to know why your legs hurt during menstruation; you need to find the specific cause of this ailment. How can you understand what caused the pain in your particular case?
Teenage girls should only worry about severe pain. Minor discomfort in the limbs for young girls is considered the norm, along with an aching stomach, painful sacrum, aching lower back and sensitive breasts. Over time, the pain will go away or become less severe. You just need your body to finally grow and get stronger, and your hormonal levels to stabilize.
In older women, minor pain in the limbs is also considered normal, which occurs as a reaction to menstruation. If you recently had childbirth or surgery, and your legs go numb during menstruation, then most likely the problem is in the blood circulation. Either the pelvic bones have not returned to their place, or the circulatory system has not yet recovered.
Finding the cause of painful sensations in the legs for menopausal women is extremely difficult. It’s hard to figure it out here without a doctor, because anything can transfer pain to the legs at that age.
Leg pain can also be caused by:
It is clear that these problems do not arise along with menstruation, but if they exist, they can be the cause of pain in the legs at the beginning of the cycle.
If your legs ache during menstruation, this may also be due to an inactive lifestyle. The muscles work less and less, which is why pain occurs when tense.
A feeling of heaviness in the legs, which intensifies with the arrival of menstrual periods, is a symptom of endometriosis along with aching pain in the lower back and lower abdomen.
Pain along with swelling of the limbs indicate possible venous insufficiency.
Painful joints are expressed not only by pain in the limbs, but also by stiffness of movement in the morning, crunching during movement and redness of the skin in the place where the leg hurts.
If pain occurs only during menstruation and does not bother you at other times, then most likely there are no alarming pathologies.
Having decided why your legs drag during menstruation, it’s time to think about methods of combating it. There is no need to take painkillers and fight the symptoms, forgetting about the cause of the pain. Traditional methods of treatment will also be inappropriate here.
If the pain is severe or gets worse every day, then you need to go to the doctor. Since problems arise during menstruation, you need to contact a gynecologist. Only then will it be possible to go to other specialists if the gynecologist refers you to them.
After passing tests and ultrasound, doctors will be able to understand what problem needs to be dealt with. But it may not come to this if the gynecologist considers pain in the legs to be a normal reaction of the body to menstruation.
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Not every woman can boast of excellent health during menstruation. There may be several reasons why legs hurt during menstruation: from completely safe to those requiring immediate medical intervention.
In general, pain during menstruation can be considered a physiological norm. But such unpleasant symptoms are localized mainly in the lower abdomen. Uncharacteristic pain when the legs are pulled before menstruation is perceived as a threatening symptom.
From a certain age, girls need to listen to the state of their body and carefully monitor not only the regularity of their cycle, but also the accompanying symptoms.
They may indicate a hidden disease, which is easier to diagnose and treat at an early stage.
The so-called growing pains, which are often observed during the period of intensive maturation between 5–15 years, can also be of an unsystematic nature. Teenage girls often complain of “flying” pain in the lower extremities, not associated with injuries or diseases.
Under the age of 18, absolutely any part of the leg and the body as a whole can hurt. Experts identify two factors in the development of this syndrome:
Typically, in adolescents, pain in the legs is not associated with the menstrual cycle, but it is during this period that the general health worsens, the girl becomes broken and weakened. Unpleasant sensations that occur earlier may intensify a week before and during menstruation.
In adults, especially women who have given birth, pain of this nature is not associated with the growth of the limbs. During menstruation, you can experience discomfort due to hormonal imbalance, diseases of the urinary and reproductive systems, as well as due to various pathologies received during childbirth (divergence of the pelvic bones, displacement of the vertebrae, scar after CS).
Also, discomfort in the lower extremities can be caused by overwork, prolonged exposure to a vertical position, general fatigue, and lack of vitamins.
One of the main reasons why legs hurt before menstruation is premenstrual syndrome.
With PMS, the sensations of pain in the legs can be constant or periodic, and also vary in intensity, which is due to changes in the concentration of progesterone and estrogen, disruptions in the hormonal cycle.
If pain occurs monthly, swelling appears, and mood changes appear, this may indicate PMS. As a result of fluid retention in the body, symptoms such as a feeling of pressure in the lower extremities, heaviness, increased venous patterns, numbness and cramps may appear, especially after prolonged standing and at night.
With PMS, sensitivity increases. Women with a low pain threshold may experience discomfort in their legs due to wearing tight shoes, inelastic stockings and socks.
If a woman has pain in her legs shortly before or immediately during menstruation, the reasons may lie in various diseases that are not directly related to the menstrual cycle. In this case, the onset of menstruation only intensifies the pain syndrome.
Reiter's disease belongs to the group of rheumatic pathologies. It is characterized by combined damage to the joints, urogenital tract and mucous membrane of the eyes. These organs and systems can be affected simultaneously or in a certain sequence. The disease is caused by a genitourinary or intestinal infection.
In the presence of Reiter's syndrome in the acute stage, during menstruation, the knees hurt, urination is impaired, and urethritis develops. Then conjunctivitis and other eye diseases occur.
1 month after the manifestation of a urogenital infection, reactive arthritis develops, asymmetrically affecting the joints of the legs.
However, young men under 40 years of age are more susceptible to the disease, women suffer from this disease much less frequently, and it does not affect children.
With pathologies of the spine, pain in the lower extremities may occur. Causes: pinched nerves, displacement of the vertebrae, development of osteochondrosis, muscle spasms. In this case, the leg hurts, and the following symptoms are also present:
A characteristic sign of back problems is that pain often radiates to the organ near which a pinched nerve or other spinal injury occurred. When a nerve is compressed in the cervical region, discomfort will be felt in the head and arm, in the chest - in the internal organs.
During menstruation, the legs become numb, and mild pain is felt in case of varicose veins. Characteristic symptoms include swelling, aching in the lower extremities after exercise, and the development of trophic ulcers.
Discomfort can be caused by a violation of the arterial blood supply (Raynaud's disease, atherosclerosis). During menstruation, against the background of hormonal imbalance, the body's lymphatic drainage system malfunctions, swelling develops, which intensifies the symptoms of the underlying disease.
Sometimes the legs hurt during menstruation and with joint pathologies, such as:
The causes of discomfort can also be previous injuries and operations. Additional symptoms are stiffness of movement, crunching, redness of the skin in the area of the affected joint, pain and heaviness in the legs due to hypothermia or increased stress.
The feeling of aching and numbness in the lower limbs during menstruation can also occur against the background of polyneuropathy. This disease is characterized by a feeling of chills in the calves and feet, heaviness, discomfort in the legs, hair loss, and increased dryness of the skin on the legs.
Polyneuropathy causes pain and damage to nerve fibers. And due to this, you constantly feel tired legs, cramps, and chills.
To eliminate the pain syndrome, it is necessary to carry out a diagnosis, especially if it is accompanied, in addition to the onset of menstruation, by a general deterioration in health, elevated temperature, or does not go away for a long time.
At any period of the menstrual cycle, you should contact your gynecologist. If necessary, this doctor will refer the patient for further examination to specialists. For diagnostic purposes the following is used:
To identify the cause, the spine, joints, and genitourinary system are examined, and injuries and tumors are excluded.
Seeing a therapist is mandatory if the pain is not related to the menstrual cycle. The specialist differentiates leg diseases such as venous insufficiency, arthrosis or arthritis, and also excludes a previous stroke, the development of benign or malignant tumors, osteochondrosis, elevated sugar levels or the approach of menopause. Tests are prescribed to measure the levels of various hormones in the blood. If necessary, the doctor issues a referral for consultations with specialized specialists - phlebologist, gastroenterologist, traumatologist, orthopedist, oncologist.
Frequent and severe pain during menstruation forces women to use antispasmodics and painkillers to alleviate the condition. But you can completely get rid of unpleasant sensations only after eliminating the main cause.
Thus, treating leg pain with folk remedies is an auxiliary measure. General recommendations for therapy are to regularly give your legs a rest and lift them up at the slightest opportunity, if necessary, reduce weight, take short breaks in case of long walks, and do not cross your legs while sitting.
Bandages and compression garments are most often used in cases of varicose veins. It is necessary to use these products not only for painful sensations, but also at rest - for prevention.
You need to apply the bandage in the morning, without getting out of bed. At the same time, the legs are raised, the product is wound from the bottom to the middle of the thigh. It is important not to squeeze the skin so as not to aggravate the pathology of the venous system and not provoke swelling.
For pain in the lower extremities, special ointments and creams are used. They have a cooling or, conversely, warming effect. Venotonics improve blood flow, strengthen vascular walls, prevent the development of varicose veins and eliminate heaviness and pain in the legs.
Only a doctor, after the examinations, will accurately answer whether the pain in the legs is related to the disease. It may turn out that this is a physiological feature of a woman’s body. To avoid health problems, do not delay visiting a specialist.
Many women experience vaginal pain during their periods. The painful focus is in the uterus and ovaries, but the pain can radiate to the perineum and vagina. Such sensations during menstruation can occur for various reasons.
The vagina is a female genital organ, which is an elastic muscular canal lined with mucous membrane. The lower border of the vagina is surrounded by the labia minora, the upper border ends at the level of the cervix. The total length of the organ can be 7–12 cm, width 2–3 cm. The wall of the organ has 3 layers: muscular, mucous and an underdeveloped spongy membrane. The anterior wall of the vagina is fused with the bladder by connective tissue, and the posterior wall is fused with the anterior wall of the rectum.
The organ takes part in the process of fertilization, the seminal fluid first enters the vagina and then penetrates the uterus and fallopian tubes, during childbirth it performs the function of the birth canal through which the fetus and placenta emerge, and during menstruation it removes menstrual flow. A small amount of vaginal fluid contains an acidic environment, which is harmful to pathogenic microorganisms.
If the pain syndrome lasts a month or more, then this may be a sign of a serious pathology and requires timely treatment:
Pain can also be caused by:
In order to avoid gynecological pathologies, you should undergo regular examinations by a gynecologist. Timely detection of the disease facilitates treatment and speeds up the recovery process. It is necessary to observe the culture of sexual relations, maintaining a connection with one sexual partner, and use contraceptives.
The vast majority of genital pathologies are transmitted sexually during unprotected contact.
Women should strictly observe the rules of personal hygiene. During menstruation, daily washing should be increased, since menstrual flow is a favorable environment for the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.
The menstrual cycle is a complex system that functions individually for each woman. The experience of friends should not mislead anyone. There are a great many reasons for disruption of the natural physiological process. To understand why this is happening to you, you need to analyze the current situation as much as possible. Often it malfunctions as a result of external factors, as well as a suddenly changed internal state. Many women wonder: why do the ovaries hurt during menstruation? It would seem that ovulation occurred a long time ago and there should be no discomfort. In fact, the causes of sudden pain can be associated with many factors.
Among the significant reasons can be noted both psychological factors and physical ones, that is, due to the general condition of the body as a whole. When your ovary hurts during your period, you need to consider different options.
Why does my left ovary hurt? If you are bothered by nagging or stabbing pain in the left side of the lower abdomen, you should pay attention to the condition of the intestines. Very often, this is how some ailments associated with its emptying manifest themselves. Check if you have constipation, do you suffer from a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen or general discomfort?
It's worth changing your diet. It is advisable to try to eat food at the same time every day, so it is better absorbed. Consume more fresh vegetables and fruits, dairy products, and various cereals. You should limit or temporarily completely eliminate foods such as white bread, pasta, mayonnaise, all kinds of seasonings, and fatty sausages. All this significantly burdens the intestines and, in turn, puts pressure on the ovaries. However, sometimes pain in the ovaries is confused with intestinal spasms. When your left ovary hurts during your period, you should take a closer look at your body.
Pain in the right ovary is often caused by existing problems with the genitourinary area. When the kidneys or bladder are unhealthy, the patient is bothered by periodic nagging pain in the right lower abdomen. The nature of the pain has similar symptoms to diseases of the reproductive system. Thus, a woman may think for a long time that she has problems with the ovary, but in fact there is a hidden disease of the genitourinary system. If discomfort occurs in the area of the right ovary, you must undergo a medical examination.
Unfortunately, few women have a correct idea of how menstruation should be. The following factors indicate health:
Thus, pain in the ovaries requires careful examination and diagnosis. This is the only way to determine the true cause of the ailment.
Once a month, every representative of the fair sex has to deal with an inevitable phenomenon - menstruation. Only a lucky few can boast of good health and mild symptoms before and during the menstrual cycle. Others may feel discomfort:
Many women, feeling pain in their lower extremities, do not associate them with the menstrual cycle, since they cannot interconnect these two phenomena. So why do your legs hurt during menstruation? This needs to be sorted out.
During adolescence, big changes occur in a girl’s body, this is due to the restructuring of hormones. Aching pain in the legs, which spreads to the joints and muscles at this age, appears for several reasons:
Painful sensations in the legs during the premenstrual period in adolescents in most cases go away on their own when the hormonal balance improves. However, a measured and calm life, age-appropriate nutrition and moderate physical activity will help you quickly get rid of the unpleasant symptom.
Many women experience pain in their legs at a fairly mature age. It would seem where pain in the lower extremities comes from at this age, because the hormonal system must function smoothly.
In addition, all reproductive organs have reached their development and different parts of the body should no longer conflict with each other, as happens in adolescence. But still, the female body is not so simple. And during childbearing years, women can also suffer from painful sensations in the legs.
This happens for the following reasons:
The period of menopause is also unstable and changeable, like adolescence. Only here many functions are already fading away. Accordingly, all this is reflected in the legs in the form of heaviness, swelling and pain, which increase during rare menstruation.
The causes of leg pain during menopause may be the same as during reproductive age. But new ones are being added to them:
Pain in the legs during PMS is systematic and can be the result of a serious illness. Therefore, at the first manifestation of discomfort in the lower extremities, you should consult a doctor.
There are two factors why women have intestinal pain during menstruation: physiological and pathological. The first includes the individual location of the uterus, as well as natural hormone surges during ovulation and menstrual periods. The second includes pathologies of the endocrine, reproductive, nervous systems and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
During menstruation, women often experience changes in the consistency of feces and the frequency of the urge to defecate. This is manifested by diarrhea, constipation, and intestinal cramps. The nature of the pain is aching, pulling, cramping, and during defecation it is sharp, sharp or causing semi-fainting. Such symptoms are possible with PMS, irritable bowel syndrome, dysfunction of the thyroid gland or gonads, pathologies of the reproductive and digestive organs.
Sometimes it is not clear: the discomfort is related to the preparation of the uterus for menstruation or there are problems with the intestines. A woman is recommended to consult a gastroenterologist, proctologist, or gynecologist as soon as cramps or stool disturbances appear during menstruation.
The causes of pain in the intestines and stomach during menstruation are as follows:
An abnormal amount of prostaglandins can also cause pain in the intestines before menstruation, diarrhea, dizziness, ulcer formation, and nausea. In order for the uterus to contract properly, they should not be too low or high.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is accompanied by symptoms similar to manifestations of the inflammatory process in the gastrointestinal tract, infection with a bacteria or virus. It is characterized by stool disorders, pain during the urge to defecate and pain during bowel movements.
Treatment begins after examination and medical consultation. Since laboratory tests always show the absence of pathogenic pathogens, doctors believe that the presence of IBS has a psychological basis and is closely related to premenstrual syndrome or menstruation. It is recommended to lead a healthy lifestyle, do yoga or gymnastics without physical activity, and balance your diet.
Menstruation often complicates the course of hemorrhoids and fissures in the anus. Wounds that come into contact with blood-stained pads or menstrual discharge are subject to additional irritation and infection. Frequent washing of the intimate area and the use of tampons are required.
Such signs appear against the background of an increased flow of blood to the organs and tissues in the small pelvis, which automatically fills the hemorrhoids and causes swelling of the mucous membranes. Cold therapy (ice suppositories, compresses) is excluded from the course of treatment during menstruation, so as not to cause intestinal inflammation.
After menstruation, the acute sensations subside, returning the course of the pathology to a chronic form.
A microcrack or scratch may form in the anus, caused by solid fecal matter. Tissues are also damaged if the mucous membrane is not sufficiently moistened by the secretion of the glands.
Symptoms of anal fissure:
Such symptoms also occur in other diseases. You should go for an examination to a proctologist to rule out colitis or cancer.
The diet for constipation should consist of soups, fermented baked milk, kefir, carrot juice and similar foods that help soften stool. When a woman suffers from diarrhea, she should switch to solid foods. Be sure to eat rice porridge or a decoction of this cereal. It is recommended to exclude garlic and other foods that cause bloating (flatulence) from the diet. Meals before menstruation should not include spicy foods that increase blood circulation.
Herbal decoctions, teas, infusions should have anti-inflammatory, carminative and diuretic effects. The following herbal medicines are useful:
Women are recommended to drink a decoction of oregano herb (synonym: oregano) before menstruation. However, the product is prohibited for use by pregnant women, since the plant has an abortifacient effect. Oregano not only relieves inflammation, spasms, pacifies pain in the intestines, fights pathogenic bacteria, but also has an expectorant effect and regulates the monthly cycle. Compresses from the infusion accelerate tissue regeneration, which is useful for anal fissures.
Drink 150–175 ml of oregano infusion for irritable bowel syndrome before menstruation, during PMS, and for gastrointestinal spasms. Take three times a day before meals, half an hour during the week before menstruation.
Method of preparation: boil 250–300 ml of water, add 2 tablespoons. spoons of oregano without a slide. Simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and bring the volume to half a liter with boiled water.
Oregano is sold through pharmacy chains in cardboard packaging. Contraindications and brewing method are indicated on the container, but it is better to consult your doctor.
It cannot be ruled out that a viral or bacterial infection may “masquerade” as menstrual syndrome or IBS. The rectum also begins to hurt when its mucous membrane or hemorrhoids become inflamed due to hypothermia. Hormonal imbalance is often caused by a pathology in the thyroid gland or adrenal glands, but a woman often reacts to this condition only during menstruation. It is advisable not to delay the examination.
If nausea, diarrhea, pain in the intestines or constipation begin before menstruation, and everything stops during menstruation or immediately after it, the main cause of such symptoms is fluctuations in hormonal levels. It is recommended to have blood tests weekly for 1-2 cycles to look at peak and drop periods. Then the gynecologist will select adequate hormonal therapy or oral contraception. Treatment of the intestines and digestive organs is not required.
Each female body reacts differently to monthly hormonal changes. Most often, the occurrence of pain is not associated with pathology, but is a natural consequence of the functioning of the genital organs. The absence of unpleasant sensations indicates good health and a properly functioning reproductive system.
Menstruation first appears in teenage girls at the age of 10-12 years. Doctors consider this an early onset of reproductive function, since:
The body, busy with other tasks, cannot cope with the increased load from the reproductive system and the surge of hormones. The result is pain in the lower abdomen and legs.
For a girl between 13 and 15 years old, the arrival of her first period is more timely. But here, too, the following symptoms may occur:
When the body gets used to the new hormonal background, the menstrual cycle is established. But most often, the knees and ankle joints stop making themselves felt only after the start of regular sexual activity and the birth of a child.
The physical condition during menstruation in an adult woman is primarily influenced by past childbirth.
Severe natural or cesarean sections could:
Stretched sacral ligaments directly affect the presence of pain in the legs.
The lower limbs begin to ache:
Any surgical intervention in the peritoneum or on the spine can make itself felt in a similar way because:
These factors directly affect the health of the female genital organs.
From the age of 50 (sometimes a little earlier), a woman’s reproductive function gradually begins to fade. This is accompanied by hormonal imbalances and false signals from the body:
This period in gynecology is called premenopause. It is characterized by middle age and irregular menstruation.
If menstruation disappears for a year and does not appear again, then they speak of postmenopause and complete loss of fertility.
If your legs continue to drag, this is due to wear and tear on the body, metabolic disorders and slow functioning of all organ systems. Menopause provokes sluggish pathologies and causes hidden diseases to manifest themselves.
Progesterone is one of the main hormones that determine a woman’s well-being. It prepares the body for pregnancy by dilating the vessels of the lower pelvis and in the uterus. This is why your legs hurt before your period.
Due to increased blood supply, the following appear:
Any negative processes occurring in the female genital organs affect the well-being of the entire body during menstruation.
Adnexitis is a common disease of the uterus, which, if left untreated, becomes chronic. As a result, connective tissues grow, forming adhesions of the fallopian tubes. Such deformations threaten infertility.
Adnexitis is accompanied by pain in the lower abdomen and legs.
The inner layer of the uterus grows in inappropriate places, compressing nerve fibers. As a result, pain in the pelvis radiates to the lower extremities.
Main symptoms of the disease:
The disease reduces a woman’s performance for the entire period of her critical days.
The condition of the spinal column directly affects the health of the legs.
Disorders that cause pain in the lower extremities:
If the changes are pronounced, then doctors diagnose a violation of the blood supply to the spinal cord. The following symptoms appear:
Hormonal surges increase spinal problems.
If your legs hurt during menstruation, the cause may be venous insufficiency:
With the latter disease, the vascular walls become inflamed, resulting in:
Many pathologies of the musculoskeletal system have in their clinical picture pain in the legs, which, in terms of their appearance, coincides with the onset of menstruation.
To identify the root cause, you should pay attention to other symptoms:
If such signs are present, a woman should consult an orthopedist or surgeon.
A disease not related to the reproductive system. People with diabetes, hypothyroidism, etc. are at risk.
It is typical that a pronounced pain syndrome rises from the lower parts of the legs upward, gradually affecting all limbs.
The gynecologist prescribes the following tests:
To find out why your legs hurt during menstruation in a particular case, you often need to consult other specialists: a neurologist, a traumatologist, a surgeon.
If your legs and stomach are cramping from pain, then the first aid is to take painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. If there are concomitant diseases, the names will be suggested by the attending physician.
Cabbage leaves help with swelling. They must be tied to your feet and left overnight.
It is useful to drink 1 tbsp for a month. celery juice instead of multivitamin complexes. Then they take a break for 30 days, and the course can be repeated.
Melissa tea copes well with fatigue and normalizes mood.
Maintaining a calm lifestyle during menstruation helps reduce pain and promotes rapid recovery of the body after blood loss.
It is better to give preference to leisurely walking for 10 minutes every hour and a half to improve the outflow of excess blood.
It is useful to lie with your legs up to reduce swelling.
Pain in the legs during menstruation is a common occurrence. If the discomfort becomes too strong, you need to contact a gynecologist to determine the cause of this phenomenon. Rest and balanced nutrition during critical days contribute to the speedy recovery of the body after monthly stress.