For lots of women, having their menstruation represents such a miserable event that they have a tough time categorizing any signs of period as normal.
Once every month, the pains and aches before period can turn even the toughest woman crawl in her bed with a hot bottle of water. If you may concern yourself about why you experience lower back pain before menstruation, you can be sure you aren`t only in this.
While this pain mostly occurs into the lower back, lower back and leg pain before period is something completely normal.
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What Causes Lower Back Pain before Period?
So, what`s the reason behind this uncomfortable pain in the lower back before your monthly period?
Over a monthly course, a series of hormones prompts the lining of the uterus to develop and thicken in preparation for pregnancy. Around the 14th day of the woman`s cycle, an egg gets released and if it isn`t fertilized, the uterus will contract in order to expel the excess of lining, and then begin the entire process all over again.
So, we established periods are not fun. It is quite understandable if you feel the need to never get out of your bed during those couple of days before your period.
And actually, what is the deal with that? Let us break things down a bit!
Estrogen & Relaxin
After the woman`s ovulation, the estrogen levels drop quite a lot. Since the effect of estrogen is to strengthen ligaments and muscles, you might experience this as an unanticipated weakness.
Towards the cycle`s end, the relaxin production increases. Relaxin does what its name implies: it will relax ligaments and joints. Before menstruation, high levels of relaxin aid open up the woman`s cervix so period could happen.
Still, it softens up the entire body`s ligaments as well, and the pelvis finds it harder to control the upper body`s weight. Due to this reason, the pelvic muscles will need to endure a “burden,” and you are more prone to experience back pain.
Painful Menstruation
Some of the women out there have painful menstruation without a real cause and this is only a part of their menstrual cycle. This kind of discomfort usually affects lots of women and represents the main cause of girls who stay at home instead of going to the school or women needing to take time off from their job.
It`s completely normal for this kind of discomfort to be felt mildly; still, persistent or serious pain is a totally normal thing.
Persistent or extreme painful periods are known as dysmenorrhea, of which there`re 2 kinds: primary & secondary. Primary dysmenorrhea happens when menstruation first starts and the secondary one takes place after menstruation has been normal. This secondary dysmenorrheal is frequently associated with endometriosis, STDs, anxiety, fibroids, stress and endometriosis.
Poor Circulation
As your period is near, the body starts sending more blood to the uterine cavity, so the flow of blood in your back will become worse. According to traditional Chinese medicine, most of the PMS signs, like back pain, are associated in some way to poor flow of blood.
So in theory, if the blood flow is poor, this is believed to cause discomfort in the lower back.
Changing Hormonal Balance
After the ovary will release the egg of this menstrual cycle at ovulation, you`ll get closer and closer to your period, and the balance of the hormones will undergo a rather big change. Estrogen will take a back seat to the progesterone hormone after the process of ovulation ends, helping maintain the lining of the uterus in case you may become pregnant.
If you are sensitive to the change of your hormones, you might have some really uncomfortable PMS signs, including lower back pain.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis represents a reproductive illness which leads to endometrial tissue to develop outside of the woman`s uterus. This takes place if endometrial cells find a way into the body and manage to attach themselves to other different regions, like the abdomen, bladder, bowels, uterus or ovaries, and manage to form a tissue at that location.
Experts are not really certain why this occurs, but they tend to guess that during the monthly cycle, blood that contains endometrial cells might turn back to the uterine tubes, which then leak back into the body.
During the woman`s cycle, this particular tissue increases in size and bleeds just as it does within the womb. The endometrial tissue`s bleeding outside the womb might lead to tissue around the uterus to get really irritated, leading to discomfort and inflammation.
Signs of endometriosis include lower back pain, painful menstruation, pelvic pain, lower abdominal pain, pain during or after sexual contact and pelvic cramps.
Prostaglandins
During menstruation, the lining of the uterus will release some chemicals known as prostaglandins. These ones will make way to muscle cramps inside the womb in order to push out the endometrium that was just broken down.
Still, the prostaglandin production begins just immediately after menstruation, leading to premenstrual symptoms. The belly is frequently affected, but they also affect the back`s nearby areas.
Is Lower Back Pain before Period a Symptom of Pregnancy?
Along with nausea or morning sickness, pain in the lower back area is among the classics in terms of early pregnancy symptoms. If you may be coming back with pain in your lower back when you are aware your period is near, it can be understood why you may suspect a pregnancy; however, don`t get that excited! – Read this!
Although a few of the mothers out there have reported pain in their lower back before the first missed menstruation, it might occur as a part of a regular cycle as well, so it`s not really sufficient to go on one side or another.
You should have a bit of patience until you are able to take a pregnancy test after a missed period, so you can have an answer that is more reliable. Still, even if the answer might be negative, if your pain continues and you still aren`t able to experience your regular menstruation, get in touch with your gynecologist so you can know what is going on.
When to Contact your Healthcare Provider?
Pain in the lower back might be a small part of the many regular body changes that occur during a monthly cycle, but not all the time. Serious discomfort in the lower back is not only part of being on the beautiful gender side, but can be related to various medical conditions, such as endometriosis, like mentioned above.
If your discomfort is getting in your way and not letting you carry out your daily routine, or it does not respond to natural remedies or OTC drugs, get in touch with your healthcare provider. Efficient and safe treatments might do the trick in getting this kind of pain under your control. You shouldn`t give in to premenstrual discomfort – you should feel good each and every day of your life.
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