Menstrual Pain Causes

Prostaglandins are chemicals a woman's body produces that cause many of the symptoms associated with menstrual discomfort. The tissue that lines the uterus makes these chemicals. Prostaglandins stimulate the uterine muscles to contract. Women who have high levels of prostaglandin experience more intense contractions of their uterus and more pain. Prostaglandins may also be responsible for vomiting, diarrhea, and headaches that accompany painful periods.

Other menstrual-type pain can be caused by conditions of the reproductive tract, such as the following:

• Endometriosis - Uterine tissue that appears outside the uterus
  
  
• Fibroids and adenomyosis - Harmless (benign) growths in the uterus
  
  
• Infections in the reproductive organs
  
  
• Abnormal pregnancy, such as an ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy in the tubes, outside the uterus)
  
  
• IUD (intra-uterine device) used for birth control
  
  
• Ovarian cyst
  
  
• Narrow cervix

If a woman has had menstrual pain ever since her periods started, the condition is classified as primary dysmenorrhea. If some physical condition such as pelvic inflammatory disease or endometriosis is causing the menstrual pain, this is called secondary dysmenorrhea. Once the medical condition is treated, the menstrual pain usually goes away.