Natural treatments for dysmenorrhea
Natural treatments for dysmenorrhea, or painful menstruation, encompass a variety of dietary supplements, herbal remedies, and alternative therapies aimed at alleviating menstrual pain. Commonly proposed options include fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin E, which have shown promise in reducing symptoms through their anti-inflammatory properties and potential effects on prostaglandin metabolism. Fish oil, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, has been linked to significant reductions in menstrual pain in several studies, while vitamin E and magnesium have also demonstrated effectiveness in clinical trials.
In addition to these principal treatments, other natural options such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, and various herbs—like black cohosh and turmeric—are explored for their potential benefits. However, the scientific support for many of these alternative therapies remains inconclusive, often due to issues in study design or lack of rigorous clinical trials. While some women may find relief through these methods, it's essential to consider the variability in individual responses and the possibility of interactions with conventional medications. Overall, the pursuit of natural treatments for dysmenorrhea reflects a growing interest in holistic approaches to menstrual health, catering to diverse preferences and cultural practices.
Natural treatments for dysmenorrhea
- PRINCIPAL PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS: Fish oil, magnesium, vitamin E
- OTHER PROPOSED NATURAL TREATMENTS: Acupuncture, aromatherapy, black cohosh, boswellia, bromelain, calcium, chiropractic, Coleus forskohlii, cramp bark, dong quai, fennel, guava leaf, krill oil, magnet therapy, manganese, traditional Chinese herbal medicine, turmeric, white willow
DEFINITION: Treatment of painful menstruation
Introduction
Medicine fails to explain why menstruation is much more uncomfortable and painful for some women than for others, or why the discomfort can vary from month to month. While these variations are natural, some pain may be a sign of an underlying condition. Occasionally, severe menstrual pain indicates the presence of endometriosisa condition in which uterine tissue is growing in places other than the uterusor uterine fibroidsbenign tumors in the uterus. In most cases, no identifiable abnormality can be found. Natural substances known as prostaglandins seem to play a central role in menstrual pain, but their detailed actions are not fully understood.
Anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen, relieve pain and reduce levels of some prostaglandins. These drugs are the mainstay of conventional treatment for menstrual pain. Oral contraceptive treatment may also help.
Principal Proposed Natural Treatments
There is some evidence that the supplements fish oil, magnesium, and vitamin E may help reduce menstrual pain.
Fish oil. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil are thought to have anti-inflammatory effects. Omega-3 may relieve dysmenorrhea by affecting the metabolism of prostaglandins and other factors involved in pain and inflammation.
In a four-month study of forty-two girls and young women aged fifteen to eighteen years, one-half the participants received a daily dose of 6 grams (g) of fish oil, providing 1,080 milligrams (mg) of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and 720 mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) daily. After two months, participants switched to a placebo for another two months. The other group received the same treatments in reverse order. The results showed that these young women experienced significantly less menstrual pain while taking fish oil.
Another double-blind study followed seventy-eight women who received either fish oil, seal oil, fish oil with vitamin B12 at a dose of 7.5 micrograms daily, or the placebo for three full menstrual periods. Significant improvements were seen in all treatment groups, but the fish oil plus vitamin B12 proved most effective, and its benefits continued for the longest time after treatment was stoppedthree months. The researchers offered no explanation as to why vitamin B12 should be helpful. Krill oil, another source of omega-3 fatty acids, also might be helpful against menstrual pain.
Vitamin E. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, one hundred young women with significant menstrual pain were given either 500 international units (IU) of vitamin E or the placebo for five days. Treatment began two days before and continued for three days after the expected onset of menstruation. While both groups showed significant improvement in pain during the two months of the study, because of the power of placebo, pain reduction was greater in the treatment group than in the placebo group.
In another study performed in Iran, 278 adolescents with dysmenorrhea were given either a placebo or 200 IU of vitamin E twice daily on the same schedule as the foregoing study. Again, vitamin E proved more effective than the placebo. It is not clear how vitamin E could affect menstrual pain.
Magnesium. Preliminary studies suggest magnesium supplementation may be helpful for dysmenorrhea. A six-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of fifty women with menstrual pain found that treatment with magnesium significantly improved symptoms. The researchers reported evidence of reduced levels of prostaglandin F2α, one of the prostaglandins involved in menstrual pain. Similarly positive results were seen in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of twenty-one women.
Other Proposed Natural Treatments
One small double-blind trial suggests that adequate amounts of calcium and manganese may help control symptoms of menstrual pain. The herb cramp bark was traditionally used to relieve menstrual pain, but it has received little significant scientific attention. Numerous other herbs and supplements have been suggested for relief of menstrual pain. These include boswellia, bromelain, Coleus forskohlii, dong quai, turmeric, and white willow. However, there is no reliable scientific support for these treatments.
One study reported finding the herb fennel helpful for menstrual pain, but a close look at the study shows that it merely found fennel less effective than the drug mefenamic acid. The study did not have a placebo control group. For this reason, it is possible that the relatively mild benefits seen in the fennel group simply reflect the placebo effect. Another study of fennel also failed to use a placebo control group.
In one study, aromatherapy massage with lavender, rose, and clary sage reduced menstrual pain to a greater extent than a massage with an almond oil placebo. One seemingly substantial double-blind study reported the benefits of guava leaf. However, researchers resorted to a statistical analysis that makes the results relatively unreliable.
A double-blind study of forty-three women found some evidence that acupuncture can be effective in control of menstrual pain. Additionally, a controlled study of sixty-one women evaluated the effects of a special garment designed to stimulate acupuncture points related to menstrual pain. Researchers chose to compare treatment to no treatment rather than the placebo. For this reason, the positive results mean little. In a review of thirty controlled trials, researchers could not draw conclusions about the effectiveness of acupuncture and similar treatments for menstrual pain because of widespread study design problems.
Similarly, in a review of thirty-nine randomized controlled trials involving 3,475 women, researchers concluded that traditional Chinese herbal medicine shows some promise in treating menstrual pain. However, firm conclusions were not possible because of the wide variability of study design and herbs used and because of the poor quality of many of the studies. Research continues to produce mixed results. Some of the most commonly used and studied traditional Chinese herbs include Xiao Yao San, Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, and Dang-Gui-Shao-Yao-San.
According to one small double-blind study, magnet therapyapplying magnets to the pelvic areamight improve menstrual pain. A controlled study failed to find chiropractic spinal manipulation helpful for menstrual pain.
Many other natural treatments for dysmenorrhea have been investigated, including chamomile. Studies have shown chamomile contains chamazulene and α-Bisabolol, which are natural anti-inflammatories, as well as flavonoids and phytoestrogens, which may help with muscle spasms and anxiety. Cinnamon, menthol, turmeric, and ginger have also been studied, but no conclusive evidence supports their use.
Herbs and Supplements to Use with Caution
Various herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to treat dysmenorrhea.
Bibliography
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