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Painful Menstruation

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Submitted By Osabarima
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Painful menstrual periods
Dysmenorrhea is the medical term for the painful cramps that may occur immediately before or during the menstrual period.
Menstrual cramps are caused by contractions in the uterus, which is a muscle. The uterus, the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows, contracts throughout a woman's menstrual cycle. If the uterus contracts too strongly, it can press against nearby blood vessels, cutting off the supply of oxygen to the muscle tissue of the uterus. Pain results when part of a muscle briefly loses its supply of oxygen. Painful menstrual periods are periods in which a woman has crampy lower abdominal pain, sharp or aching pain that comes and goes, or possibly back pain.Although some pain during your period is normal, excessive pain is not.
Many women have painful periods. Sometimes, the pain makes it difficult to perform normal household, job, or school-related activities for a few days during each menstrual cycle. Painful menstruation is the leading cause of lost time from school and work among women in their teens and 20s.

Causes
Painful menstrual periods fall into two groups, depending on the cause:
• Primary dysmenorrhea
• Secondary dysmenorrhea
Primary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain (cramps) usually begin one to two years after a woman starts getting her period. Pain usually is felt in the lower abdomen or back. They can be mild to severe. Common menstrual cramps often start shortly before or at the onset of the period and continue one to three days.This pain is usually not related to a specific problem with the uterus or other pelvic organs. Increased activity of the hormone prostaglandin, which is produced in the uterus, is thought to play a role in this condition. They usually become less painful as a woman ages and may stop entirely after the woman has her first baby.
Secondary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain that

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