Ladies, do you know how many days are in your cycle? Have you documented your cycle? Documenting your cycle can help observe your menstrual health. If you never did, I encourage you to, and to keep this habit until you reach post-menopause. 

The change of menstruation is determined by 4 major hormones:

Follicular stimulating hormone (FSH)

Luteinizing hormone (LH)

Estrogen 

Progesterone

Knowing your cycle is important not only for your fertility, but also for your hormonal health. To count the cycle days, mark the start of your period as the first day of the cycle, and the last day before your next period starts as your last day of the cycle. Luckily we have many apps available to chart and document your cycles. Documenting for at least 3 months can give you a clear picture of your cycle. 

A normal cycle length is between 21 to 35 days. It’s not necessary to be right on the dot, but too long or too short of cycle length indicates hormonal imbalance, stress, or abnormal growth in the reproductive system.

There are a few reasons why your cycles may be irregular:

Puberty, smoking, over consumption of alcohol, stress, thyroid dysfunction, underweight or overweight, rapid weight loss, PCOS, ovarian deficiency, perimenopause or menopause.

Although painkillers can help to soothe the discomfort and pain during menstruation, it can also give us a false sense of health. The two types of menstrual cramps, primary and secondary, have two different causes. 

In primary dysmenorrhea, there is an overproduction of prostaglandin, an inflammatory mediator. Thus the underlying cause of primary dysmenorrhea is related to chronic low grade inflammation.

Whereas secondary dysmenorrhea is often caused by structural abnormalities, such as endometriosis or adenomyoma, a intrauterine benign growth that involves the gland and muscle.Both can have a root cause of hormonal imbalance and poor estrogen metabolism. 

The common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) only help with the pain, but not the root cause. And long term use of NSAIDs can lead to gut dysbiosis and lead to gut dysfunction. A systematic biological approach that includes functional medicine and traditional chinese medicine to help with the menstrual cramp is the optimal way for your reproductive health.

Aside from acupuncture, I also recommend a few things to help with menstrual cramps. 

Physical exercise: gentle physical activity can help increase the overall physical health. If you know me, you know that I can’t stop raving about regular yoga practice. Yoga is one of my favorite exercises that can promote relaxation and also the blood flow of the uterus. The gentle form of yoga can also help our body to detox.

Sleep:

If you have a poor night of sleep , you might realize that you have increased aches and pains. Restoration during sleep is important in regeneration for our body. A good night of sleep also helps to increase our pressure pain threshold (Research Article).