What can help period pain – Part 3?
While taking nutritional supplements suits some women, I know others don’t like taking tablets. So here are a couple of other ideas to assist you with your period pain.
There is scientific evidence that from a trail of women who suffer from period pain that certain yoga poses e.g. cobra, cat and fish reduce both the intensity and duration of period pain. The cobra pose is where you lie on your front, with your hand underneath your shoulders and gently push yourself up bending your back as you come up. The cat pose is when you are on all fours and then round your spine like a cat. The fish pose is when you lie on your back, keep your pelvis and head on the floor and an arch your spine towards the ceiling.
As an aromatherapist there are a variety of essential oils that you can use to help reduce the severity of period pain. Aromatherapists split period pain into two categories:
- Congestive dysmenorrhoea – where the pain starts a few days before the period and can cover the whole abdominal area.
- Spasmodic dysmenorrhoea which comes in spams of pain in the pelvis and/or lower back.
For congestive pain:
10 drops of roman chamomile + 5 drops of clay sage and 15 drops of red thyme in 30 ml of a base massage oil.
For spasmodic pain:
5 drops of lavender, 10 drops of peppermint, 10 drops of nutmeg and 5 drops of cypress in 30 ml of a base massage oil.
In both cases you massage the whole abdomen and lower back daily throughout your period.
References:
Yoga poses >> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21514190
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