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Period Pain

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As women, many of us are affected by period pain to varying degrees. From what I have experienced myself and what I have seen in the clinic it can be debilitating, annoying, frustrating and even soul crushing. Chinese Medicine had had success in treating period pain through many different methods including herbal medicine and acupuncture. 

Our strategies are to find the imbalances and even things out, herbs may supplements the blood, balance out hormones and improve circulation to relieve pain. Acupuncture reinforces this and in acute episodes of pain has the potential to block pain signals to the brain! 

Here are some things I have found to help:

Herbs: Keeping up your herbs in the weeks leading up to and during your period is imperative in keeping the blood flow smooth and your muscles relaxed. Different women present with different presentations  - but rest assured there is a unique herbal prescription with your name on it!

Stay Warm: Cold knees? Icy toes? Reaching for the hot-water bottle during that time of the month? If this sounds like you, even in the warmer weather, it makes a marked difference to keep our lower half warm in particular. Warmth encourages movement, and cold contracts and stagnates. The 'yin' acupuncture meridians of the legs have a close relationship to blood, menstruation and fertility so we need them to be moving as smoothly as possible. This means slippers at night and warm feet, ankles and legs during the day.

Be conscious: once spasms or cramps start it can seem to make the whole body what to contract as a kind of protection mechanism. Think fetal position. If you can try and resist this temptation, use your mind to scan your body, take deep, calming breaths, notice of exactly where your cramps are and tell your muscles to relax - it may seem impossible and only last momentarily - but it is a powerful technique when out of reach of your acupuncturist. 

Keep in mind - period pain is not normal. It is an indication of an imbalance that your body that needs to be fixed, so do what you need to do to get through your day, but keep in mind that this doesn't need to be, and shouldn't be the norm for you. 

You don't need this pain in your life, reach out and help yourself.
 - Dr. Stephanie Luxton (Chinese Medicine)