Aches in the lower abdomen as before menstruation. Severe pain during menstruation: when to see a doctor

Pain syndrome worries many women during menstruation. The most unpleasant sensations occur in the lower abdomen. The reason is the contraction of the muscular layer of the uterus, which occurs during this period. However, some types of pain indicate gynecological diseases. And they need to be able to identify for timely treatment.

Pain is the signal of the body about the ongoing changes and disorders. It cannot be ignored because it is a symptom of diseases of the reproductive and urinary system. However, not in all cases, pain is a cause for concern.

THE NOTE! Acute pain is a serious reason to call an ambulance. It can occur due to inflammation of the cyst or appendicitis, even during menstruation. In this case, you must refrain from taking any medication and wait for the doctor to arrive. Self-treatment is dangerous.

Type of pain	Characteristic	Causes
Pulling	Occurs in the muscles during menstruation. May also appear a week or 1-2 days before menstruation	Violent uterine contractions. Drawing pain most often occurs in nulliparous girls. Passes after pregnancy
Aching	It spreads along the lower part of the abdominal cavity. Doesn't go away for a long time. May radiate to the lower back	Increased sensitivity of nerve endings. Incorrect position of the uterus (bend) and its strong increase during menstruation
Dull	Reminds me of a feeling of heaviness in my stomach. It can also appear on the first day of menstruation. Passes during the day	Appears due to increased physical activity
cramping	Moderate cramping pain is considered normal during menstruation. It has a paroxysmal character. However, you need to see a doctor if it is unbearable and does not go away for a long time.	Intensive contraction of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ureters, bladder, intestines. Severe cramping pain indicates disorders in the reproductive or urinary system
Acute	Sharp and prolonged pain. Increases when walking. It may become more or less intense. A distinctive feature - with a sharp increase in pain, you want to bend or sit down. It is a symptom of disorders and diseases of the reproductive system	Acute pain can be caused by dysmenorrhea (severe pain in the lower abdomen at the beginning of menstruation). Passes within 1-2 days. Infectious and inflammatory diseases can also cause discomfort. In this case, pain is observed throughout the cycle.

THE NOTE! Only a specialist can determine the exact cause of pain during menstruation. However, for this you need to know not only the nature of the pain, but also the localization.

Video - Painful menstruation

Cystitis

Cystitis often worsens during menstruation. There are sharp and pulling pains in the lower abdomen, which are aggravated by urination. There may also be a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen and severe aching pain in the lumbar region. It is worth considering that cystitis has other characteristic features by which it is easy to recognize:

burning and itching in the vagina;
severe redness and irritation;
increased body temperature;
headaches and dizziness.

THE NOTE! An exacerbation during menstruation is due to the fact that, due to the outflow of blood, the spread of infection occurs many times faster. Also, menstrual blood becomes a good environment for the development of bacteria if the rules of hygiene are neglected.

It is easy to relieve the symptoms of cystitis, but treatment can take a long time. If you let the disease take its course, it can develop into a chronic form. Most often, a general urinalysis and ultrasound of the genitourinary organs are prescribed to make an accurate diagnosis. Cystitis is treated with antibiotics. Additionally, a diet is prescribed for the duration of treatment, excluding spicy and fatty foods from the diet.

THE NOTE! During treatment, it is necessary to refuse to take a bath and wash only in the shower, otherwise the cystitis may worsen. The water temperature should be no more than 38-39 degrees.

Video - How to treat cystitis at home

Inflammation of the appendages

Pain is intense in nature. With inflammation of the appendages, there is a sharp, pulling or aching pain. It starts to bother 1-2 days before the onset of menstruation and stops on the second day of menstruation. In some cases, it disappears at the end of menstruation. Other symptoms are also observed:

itching and burning in the vagina;
elevated body temperature (up to 39 degrees);
abundant or, conversely, meager periods;
nausea;
pain and discomfort when urinating.

THE NOTE! Inflammation of the appendages is an infectious-inflammatory disease. It occurs due to hypothermia, colds and stress. It can also develop against the background of sexually transmitted infections.

The pain is localized in the lower abdomen on the left and right sides. It manifests itself in an acute form of inflammation of the appendages. If the symptoms are ignored, the disease will become chronic over time.

However, the hidden form is considered the most dangerous. In this case, there are no signs of the disease. Then inflammation of the appendages is diagnosed using ultrasound and laboratory tests.

Treatment is based on antibiotics aimed at the destruction of pathogens. To enhance the effect, candles are prescribed. You also need to follow the diet prescribed by the doctor and lead a healthy lifestyle.

endometriosis

Unbearable pain and heavy discharge are the main symptoms of endometriosis. Scanty periods during this disease are extremely rare. A few days before menstruation, there is pain in the lower abdomen, which radiates to the lower back. In addition, brown discharge may appear. There are other signs of the disease:

irregular cycle;
big delays;
nausea;
vomit;
problems with urination;
constipation.

During menstruation, the pain becomes strong and constant. They mostly have a cramping or aching character, but their intensity is still different. This reaction is due to excessive rejection of the endometrium and damage to blood vessels.

THE NOTE! Endometriosis is rare in women taking hormonal drugs.

An accurate diagnosis is made on the basis of research. Endometriosis is diagnosed using ultrasound, computed tomography and laparoscopy. After the examination, it is possible to determine the method of treating the disease. There are only two methods:

hormonal treatment;
surgical intervention.

THE NOTE! Endometriosis resolves after pregnancy and childbirth. However, during this disease it is very difficult to get pregnant. If this happens, doctors recommend not abandoning the baby. However, an ectopic pregnancy should be ruled out immediately.

Video - How to treat endometriosis at home

Ovarian cyst

The occurrence of acute and unbearable pain in the ovaries during menstruation is the main sign of the presence of a cyst. Pain can be constant or intermittent. They can occur at any period of the cycle, but worsen during menstruation and ovulation.

Localization of pain depends on the site of the cyst. It can hurt both the right and left ovaries, as well as both at once. You may also feel tingling and throbbing. But there are other symptoms as well:

large delays in menstruation;
pain during intercourse;
disorders in the urinary system (painful urination);
enlargement and asymmetry of the abdomen;
hirsutism (growth of facial hair).

THE NOTE! It is not the cyst itself that is dangerous, but the torsion of its legs or rupture. Therefore, it is important to identify the cyst in time and begin its treatment.

An ovarian cyst is easily detected on ultrasound. Small formations can be cured with hormonal drugs. Large and numerous cysts are removed surgically. To avoid surgery, it is necessary to identify the cyst at an early stage, until complications begin. Not treated with medication:

numerous formations;
large cysts (5-10 cm);
cysts discovered shortly before menopause;
cysts that appeared during menopause.

uterine fibroids

During this disease, pain lasts until the last day of menstruation. As a rule, the intensity only increases with each time. At the initial stage, there are pulling and aching pains, which, when complicated, acquire an acute cramping character.

The pain is felt not only in the lower abdomen, but also gives to the lower back. It can also spread all over the back before menstruation and in the first days. In addition, the sensitivity of the breast is significantly increased. Also, with uterine fibroids, there are:

dark brown discharge before, during and after menstruation;
cycle reduction;
a significant increase in the duration of menstruation up to several weeks;
profuse bleeding (less often scanty);
the presence of clots in the secretions.

THE NOTE! A common cause of fibroids is hormonal imbalance. Increased production of estrogens, female sex hormones, leads to the formation of a tumor.

In some cases, it is possible to notice fibroids during a gynecological examination. It is also detected using ultrasound, hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, endometrial biopsy and laboratory tests. It is treated with medication. A course of taking hormonal drugs is prescribed. However, surgery may be needed to treat large tumors.

Video - Uterine fibroids: signs, symptoms, treatment

Conclusion

Moderate pain at the beginning of menstruation is normal. As a rule, they pass during the first two days of the cycle. But acute pain syndrome is a cause for concern. Especially if there are additional symptoms. In this case, it is necessary to consult a doctor to exclude the presence of infectious-inflammatory and chronic diseases.

It pulls the lower abdomen as during menstruation - from time to time every woman faces such a problem. During menstruation, the pain is normal and understandable, because the uterus is actively contracting - hence the heaviness. But 7-12 days before menstruation, such symptoms are alarming. What causes them and how dangerous are they? Should I consult a gynecologist right away or wait? What causes the pulling pain before menstruation? There are various reasons, which we will dwell on in detail.

Pain in the lower abdomen should not appear long before menstruation

Pulls the lower abdomen during discharge

The delay is aggravated by heaviness in the lower back and the lower abdomen hurts like during menstruation and feels - such symptoms are characteristic of pregnancy. It is often accompanied by mild nausea, breasts and nipples swell. Usually, the pulling pains last 7-10 days until the fertilized egg is fixed in the uterus. Early pregnancy may be accompanied by brown uterine discharge. Women often mistake them for the onset of menstruation. Pain in the lower abdomen periodically appear in the future. They are not strong, but you should not postpone an examination by a gynecologist.

The doctor will confirm or deny the pregnancy. Delay, accompanied by severity, is a symptom of pathological pregnancy (ectopic). At risk are women who have narrow tubes.

Risk of miscarriage

Short-term pregnancy can be asymptomatic - a woman is unaware of her and leads a normal life, which is associated with a risk of miscarriage. If the egg is not fixed, then the breakdown will end with menstruation. The worst option is profuse bleeding and a serious threat to life. If the pregnancy is confirmed, and you suffer from severe pain for more than a week before your period, be sure to consult your doctor. Usually this condition is associated with an increased tone of the uterus. But the course of pregnancy is observed by an obstetrician-gynecologist, otherwise the outcome may be unfavorable.

Pregnancy in the early stages may be accompanied by characteristic pain

Drawing pain in the middle of the cycle

Women complain of pain as before menstruation, which worries them in the middle of the cycle. Pain syndrome can be a symptom of a serious pathology:

Compaction or neoplasm in the uterus.
Hormonal disbalance.
Consequence of injury.
Inflammation of the genitals.
Menstrual disorders.
Diseases of the intestines.

A delay in menstruation due to cycle disorders also shifts the timing of ovulation. With late ovulation, the lower abdomen hurts for a short time, as with menstruation - the discomfort quickly passes. Pain below can be associated with intestinal problems - it is located close to the female genital organ, so it is difficult to understand what exactly hurts. If the heaviness in the lower abdomen is associated with the intestines, then bloating, rumbling is noted.

Pulling the stomach after ovulation

If you have a delay and suspicion of pregnancy, then there is no reason to worry. During the period of bearing a child, this condition is normal, only severe incessant pain is a cause for concern - in this situation there is a threat of a breakdown and a doctor's consultation is necessary.

In situations where pregnancy is excluded, discomfort in the lower abdomen after ovulation may be a symptom of:

Inflammation of the uterus and ovaries.
Rupture of cysts and other gynecological problems.
Appendicitis.

Delay can also be a symptom of any of the listed diseases. Discomfort in the lower abdomen after ovulation occurs in 1 in 9-10 women.

Cystitis can cause pulling pains

Hormonal disruptions

With a normal balance of hormones, women do not suffer from ailments before, during and after the menstrual cycle. Periodic or constant feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen is often due to the hormone prostaglandin. When it is overabundant, the muscles of the uterus begin to contract intensely, which causes pain. They appear a few days before menstruation and end after menstruation. With thyroid problems, similar symptoms appear. The condition can be exacerbated by insomnia, sudden weight gain or weight loss.

Treatment is prescribed by an endocrinologist after examining the patient. Taking hormonal drugs can also be accompanied by pulling pain.

Inflammations and infections

The inflammatory process is not always pronounced, at the initial stage, sometimes on the eve of menstruation, aching pain appears, radiating to the lower back, then - a delay in menstruation. Inflammation progresses - discomfort increases, pain intensifies. With genital infections, the symptoms are similar, but discomfort during urination is added to it.

“Why does the lower abdomen hurt during menstruation?” is a question that every woman should know the answer to.

Only a specialist who owns scientific information can give it.

Why does the lower abdomen hurt during menstruation and what to do

With the advent of menstruation, girls begin to experience pain in the lower abdomen and use them to determine the time of their onset. Here it is important to know why the lower abdomen hurts during menstruation and whether to worry about this.

This may have physiological roots, but may be associated with any disease. To begin with, we will figure out why menstruation is painful, heavy.

Causes of menstrual pain

A huge number of women in these few days, when menstruation passes, suffer from pain, feel bad. Where does pain come from?

This is an inflammatory reaction, the release of special substances of an inflammatory nature, which provoke painful sensations in the lower abdomen above the pubis.

As a rule, for menstruation, it is characteristic that women have a stomach ache, swelling occurs at this moment, because the hormonal background changes, a lot of the hormone progesterone is produced.

There is an increased appetite, a bad mood. Menstruation makes you feel worse. This is premenstrual pain syndrome (PMS). Doctors call menstruation a "scheduled nightmare."

During menstrual bleeding, a woman’s natural defense mechanism is triggered, which helps to spasm blood vessels so that blood does not flow all the time.

This mechanism is called the release of prostaglandins, special substances that spasm blood vessels.

Essentially, pain is related to prostaglandins. It's simple: prostaglandins were thrown out - the vessels spasmed. Pain causes this spasm.

It turns out that nature protects the woman from great blood loss with this pain. And she feels heaviness, discomfort.

Menstrual pain associated with menstruation can be of a different nature.

Often, young girls have pulling pains in the abdomen, which make themselves felt before and during menstruation. They may persist until pregnancy.
With the bending of the uterus, increased sensitivity of the nerve plexuses, on which it puts pressure, a woman may experience prolonged aching pain in the abdomen. They are given in the lower back.
As a result of heavy physical exertion, at the beginning of menstruation, dull pain may occur in the form of a feeling of heaviness, which lasts no more than a day.
A woman during menstruation may experience paroxysmal severe pain. Here you need to consult a gynecologist. Why? This pain is characterized by intense contraction of the uterus, spasms of the bladder and intestines. This indicates violations of these systems.
Menstruation may be accompanied by severe pain. In general, severe pain in any part of the body is a sign of some kind of disease. In this case, these are violations of the reproductive system or inflammatory, infectious diseases.

It should be noted that during menstruation, the legs and lower back may hurt, nausea, weakness, and diarrhea may appear.

In addition to physiologically caused menstrual pain in 30-year-old women, against the background of an increase in the hormone estrogen, algomenorrhea may occur. There are two causes of pain in this case.

Some are associated with the anatomical individuality of the woman and hormonal changes. The cause of the latter may be inflammation in the cyst, endometriosis, intrauterine device. During menstruation, there may be heavy bleeding.

How to get rid of painful periods

Menstruation can flow more comfortably. Prostaglandin blockers - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) will help to do this.

These include over-the-counter drugs: aspirin, ibuprofen, voltaren, nurofen, paracetamol.

They relieve inflammation, and most importantly - block prostaglandins, resulting in reduced spasm, reduced pain.

In addition, they disrupt the function of platelets, which form a clot and stop bleeding.

Women who have a tendency to bleeding, for example, hereditary, or they take drugs that thin the blood, with poor blood clotting, drugs in this group are contraindicated.

In those who have hypertension, drugs in this group will constrict blood vessels and increase blood pressure. Also, the ban on these drugs is associated with gastric and duodenal ulcers.

In really serious cases, with severe pain, the gynecologist prescribes prescription drugs.

In addition to drugs, you can take herbal teas and infusions. They can be purchased at any pharmacy.

When choosing a herbal collection, you need to look so that they include herbs with analgesic, anti-inflammatory and sedative effects.

These are St. John's wort, calendula, chamomile, motherwort, daisy flowers. They give the greatest effect compared to other herbs. You need to start drinking them already a few days before the onset of menstruation.

Also, when a woman has a severe stomach ache, it is recommended to use a relatively hot heating pad to relax her lower part so that she does not hurt.

Warmth should be comfortable. This is good pain relief.

With algomenorrhea, contraceptives will help relieve severe abdominal pain and normalize the state of hormones. But you should not assign them to yourself.

Only a gynecologist, after examining and confirming the diagnosis, will prescribe an effective contraceptive drug that is best suited for your case.

Diseases that cause pain

Severe abdominal pain during menstruation can be associated with serious diseases. In this case, the help from drugs that relieve pain during their usual course will be temporary.

Treatment of these diseases is required. Consider what diseases can cause such pain.

Cystitis

Cystitis is a very unpleasant disease. With menstruation, his symptoms intensify. They, in turn, exacerbate menstrual pain. It becomes not only strong in the lower abdomen, but also spreads to the lumbar region.

If you never paid attention to any painful sensations before your period, then the aggravation of pain will help you pay attention to them.

These are manifestations of cystitis that require treatment. These include pain when urinating, cramps, itching in the vagina, and a headache. The temperature may rise.

If you have these symptoms, you should contact your urologist. It is important that cystitis does not become chronic. Moreover, it is easily treated if started on time.

Usually, to clarify the diagnosis, a urine test is taken and an ultrasound examination of the organs of the genitourinary system is performed.

After the diagnosis is made, drug treatment with antibacterial drugs is prescribed.

You will also need to give up fatty and spicy foods for this time.

With timely access to a urologist, you will solve the problem with two components - restore the health of the genitourinary system, reduce pain during menstruation.

endometriosis

In a woman on critical days, this disease causes severe pain and heavy periods. He starts to pull his lower back, his stomach hurts a lot. Brown discharge occurs.

To understand that severe pain is caused by this disease, you need to know the symptoms. This disease is characterized by delayed periods, nausea and vomiting, problems with the intestines and bladder, as well as very severe intense pain.

They may be aching or contraction-like. Strengthening them is associated with a large amount of output of endometrial cells.

When contacting a gynecologist, a special diagnosis is prescribed, including ultrasound, computed tomography, laparoscopy.

Depending on the result of the examination, hormone therapy or surgery may be prescribed. Endometriosis is an insidious disease in which it is very difficult for a woman to get pregnant.

Therefore, if you observe these symptoms in yourself, you need to undergo an examination.

Inflammation of the appendages

Inflammation of the appendages has an infectious-inflammatory nature. The body is supercooled, picks up a sexually transmitted infection.

As with endometriosis, this disease during exacerbation is manifested by intense pain, concentrated on the right and left.

It can be aching, pulling, sometimes sharp, is a "harbinger" of menstruation, often disappears the next day. Other symptoms resemble endometriosis and cystitis. This is a burning sensation in the vagina, painful urination, high fever. May be nauseating.

Allocations are either large or meager. The diagnosis is made after an examination. Treatment is prescribed in the form of antibiotic therapy. Also recommend suppositories for local treatment.

Cyst

The presence of an ovarian cyst can be suspected when an exacerbation of unbearable pain appears during menstruation. It has the character of constancy or periodicity.

The place of pain is determined by the presence of a cyst on one of the ovaries. There are also other signs of this disease.

An ovarian cyst is characterized by pain during intimacy, long delays in menstruation, painful sensations when urinating, an increase in the abdomen - more on a certain side, hirsutism.

When you notice these signs in yourself, undergo an examination to clarify the diagnosis using an ultrasound scan. If the diagnosis is confirmed, then depending on the size of the cyst, hormonal treatment or surgery is prescribed.

Operations can always be avoided if the disease is detected at the very beginning. Large cysts and a large number of them are removed only surgically.

In addition to the considered serious diseases, it is necessary to take into account an additional range of causes that cause pain during menstruation.

These are abortions, thyroid disorders, developmental anomalies, magnesium and calcium deficiency, neoplasms, low sensitivity threshold, low activity. They also require a medical look.

There are signs by which it is easy to understand when a medical examination and treatment is urgently needed. These include:

pronounced symptoms associated with inflammatory processes. This is a violation of the temperature regime, increased sweating and palpitations, discharge with a strong odor during menstruation;
very severe abdominal pain with profuse discharge and weight loss for several days;
itching, burning sensation in the vaginal area and when urinating.

Thus, minor pains in the lower abdomen during menstruation are physiologically determined and are considered absolutely normal.

It is worth worrying about the occurrence of acute, prolonged, unbearable pain in combination with the symptoms of serious illnesses discussed in the article, when you simply cannot do without medical help.

Drawing pains in the lower abdomen and in the lower back are familiar to every woman. Most often they are characteristic of the first days of menstruation. On the rest of the cycle, healthy women feel good. However, pulling pains, as with menstruation, can appear on any day of the menstrual cycle. If this happens, they become a cause for concern for women. So, let's figure out what is the cause of pain and when you need to see a specialist with this symptom.

Causes of pulling pains in women

If a woman’s stomach pulls and hurts like during menstruation, but wait a long time before the onset of menstruation, the cause of this condition may be:

pregnancy;
inflammation;
infection;
taking hormonal drugs;
mechanical injury;
intense sexual intercourse;
appendicitis.

Pregnancy

The first days of pregnancy are characterized by sensations of premenstrual syndrome: the lower abdomen can hurt, and the lower back pulls like during menstruation. Irritability, nausea, and a feeling of swelling of the mammary glands may also be observed.

As a rule, all symptoms are observed within a week, while the fertilized egg is fixed in the uterine cavity. Sometimes during this period, slight brown spotting may appear, which women can also confuse with the onset of menstruation.

As pregnancy progresses, pulling sensations may periodically appear due to stretching of the muscles of the uterus. Normally, they should not be strong and last more than a week.

Weak pains, as during menstruation, are also characteristic of an ectopic pregnancy, especially if the tubes are narrowed.

Risk of miscarriage

In early pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage is high, especially if the woman is not yet aware of her situation. In this case, a failed attempt by the egg to gain a foothold in the uterine cavity may result in normal menstruation. However, if you already know about pregnancy and the lower abdomen and lower back hurt like during menstruation, you should consult a doctor. Most often, such pain gives an increased tone of the uterus. If you ignore this, the outcome of pregnancy may be unfavorable.

Inflammation

Inflammatory processes can cause pain as before menstruation. They are not pronounced, more often, these are pains that are pulling, aching, sometimes radiating to the lower back. But this condition is typical only for the initial stage of inflammatory processes. As the disease progresses, the pain increases.

Cysts with partial twisting of the leg can also give mild pain. This is due to impaired blood supply.

Infection

Pain, similar to menstruation, can provoke urinary tract infections and the activity of pathogens, sexually transmitted diseases.

Hormonal disorders

With the right balance of hormones, women do not experience discomfort in any of the periods of the menstrual cycle. If a woman's lower abdomen and back hurt like menstruation, prostaglandins can be the cause. This hormone, when produced by the body in excess, increases the contraction of the uterine muscles, making this process painful. With such a violation of the body's work, pulling pains most often appear at the end of menstruation.

The cause of hormonal disorders is most often an overactive thyroid gland. As a rule, other symptoms also join, for example, insomnia, changes in weight, and so on.

Also, the use of hormonal drugs can affect the balance of hormones. In this case, with complaints about the symptoms that have appeared, it is necessary contact your doctor.

Appendicitis

Inflammation of the appendix can also be manifested by pulling pains in the lower abdomen, similar to the onset of menstruation. This is the result of a shift in the localization of pain sensations.

Do I need to see a doctor for pain in the lower abdomen?

In the presence of pulling pains unusual for the body, similar to menstrual pain, in any of the periods of the cycle, it is worth contacting a specialist to find out the cause. The help of the latter will be especially needed if additional symptoms have joined the pains. Both diagnosis and treatment in this case must be entrusted to a specialist.

Menstruation is the rejection of the functional layer of the endometrium lining the inner surface of the uterus, which has a certain cyclicity. Another name for menstruation is regula (from the word "regular"). The first day of menstruation is considered the beginning of the menstrual cycle - the period during which changes occur in the work of the reproductive organs, aimed at the possibility of conception. In a healthy woman, the cycle duration is usually 28-30 days. These numbers are the classic norm, but for many women they can fluctuate depending on individual characteristics. Gynecologists consider the duration of the menstrual cycle from 25 to 34 days to be acceptable.

A few days before the start of the regulation, a woman may feel worse. Many complain of increased weakness during this period, decreased performance, constant drowsiness. Physiological sensations are also possible, for example, headaches, a slight increase in body temperature, increased sweating. The most common complaint at the end of the menstrual cycle in most women is pain in the lower abdomen. This symptom is observed in almost 60% of women of reproductive age. To understand whether this is a norm or a pathology, it is necessary to know the possible causes of the pain syndrome.

Every month, processes take place in a woman’s body that prepare the body for a possible conception and create conditions for the fertilization of a mature egg. During the period of ovulation, which occurs on days 14-16 of the cycle, the membranes of the dominant follicle rupture to release the egg ready for fertilization into the cavity of the fallopian tube, where it can meet with the sperm. From the fallopian tube, the egg moves into the body of the uterus, a pear-shaped muscular organ whose main task is to carry the fetus.

In the uterus, the egg is attached to the mucous membrane (endometrium). If conception does not occur, the unfertilized egg is rejected by the uterine walls along with the functional mucous surface. An open bleeding wound forms on the surface of the uterus, which heals a few days after the end of menstruation. All these processes can cause moderate nagging pain in the lower abdomen, where the uterus is located, and usually do not require pain medication.

Pain in the lower abdomen a few days before the onset of regulation is considered normal if accompanied by the following characteristics:

the general health of the woman remains normal;
body temperature is within the normal range or at the lower border of subfebrile condition (no more than 37.4 °);
after the onset of menstruation, there are no signs of heavy uterine bleeding.

Note! Menstrual fluid is not just blood, it contains endometrial tissue as well as mucus secreted by the glands of the vagina and cervix. Menstrual blood does not clot and is darker in color than the blood circulating through the blood vessels due to the high amount of enzymes. This is the main sign that allows you to distinguish menstruation from breakthrough bleeding.

Premenstrual syndrome: norm or pathology?

Premenstrual syndrome is a complex of symptoms that occur 3-5 days before the start of the regular period. It has a psychosomatic nature and is associated mainly with emotional disturbances and changes. Many women during this period become irritable, tearful. Unreasonable aggression, anxiety, signs of depression, insomnia may appear. In about 30% of women, the signs of PMS include physiological symptoms, for example:

headache (in women with neurological disorders, migraine attacks may worsen);
severe pain of a pulling nature in the lower abdomen;
nausea, aversion to certain foods;
soreness in the mammary glands;
increased sweating.

Despite the fact that many women suffer from premenstrual syndrome, gynecologists do not consider it a normal condition. In most cases, the pathology is caused by insufficient synthesis of endorphins - “pleasure hormones”, which are natural analgesic substances. Lack of this hormone can lead to a serious complication - menstrual psychosis. The disease is considered very serious and may require medical correction in a hospital, therefore, with frequently recurring signs of PMS, it is necessary to consult a doctor and check the functioning of the endocrine system and the functioning of the pituitary gland of the brain, which is responsible for the synthesis of endorphins.

Pain of high intensity 3-5 days before menstruation

If the pain syndrome is of high intensity, and the woman cannot perform her usual activities, it is necessary to consult with the observing gynecologist. Such a symptom may indicate hidden inflammatory processes and other pathologies of the genitourinary system and reproductive organs, which worsen before the onset of regulation due to a decrease in immunity caused by natural physiological changes in the body.

Fibroids are the second most common female benign tumor, second only to breast fibroadenoma. The formation is of a benign nature and consists of the muscle tissue of the myometrium - a layer consisting of myocytes intertwined with each other, which are constantly contracting in an arbitrary order and rhythm.

Myoma usually looks like a small nodule. It can be single or multiple, and also differ in the localization of tumor nodes.

Types of fibroids depending on location

Pathology has two characteristic features: pain in the lower abdomen and uterine bleeding, which can be manifested by menorrhagia (heavy menstruation lasting more than 7 days) or breakthrough uterine bleeding. Almost always, with fibroids, a woman feels a pulling pain in the lower abdomen, which intensifies before the start of the regular period and in the middle of the menstrual cycle.

For conservative treatment of fibroids, tranexamic acid preparations, as well as drugs that suppress the production of pituitary gonadotropic hormones, can be used. In the absence of a therapeutic effect, the doctor may decide to remove the tumor surgically.

Important! The risk group for the development of fibroids includes women taking oral contraceptives and women over 40 years of age. This category of patients is recommended to undergo a routine examination by a gynecologist at least once a year.
Violations in the functioning of the endometrium

One of the most common causes of pain in the lower abdomen before menstruation is endometrial disease. Most often, women experience excessive growth of the mucosal layer, which is called endometrial hyperplasia. If the cells of the mucosal membrane begin to go beyond the mucous layer, the woman is diagnosed with endometriosis.

Both pathologies have the same symptoms and often occur simultaneously. For diagnosis, the method of ultrasonic transvaginal examination or hysteroscopy (introduction of a special optical device into the uterine cavity) is used. Equally important is the collection of medical history. With pathologies of the endometrium, women complain of the following symptoms:

severe pain in the lower abdomen that occurs monthly and increases in the middle and end of the menstrual cycle;

abundant regulation lasting more than one week;

irradiation of pain in the lumbar region, coccyx, sacrum, buttocks and thighs;

pain during intercourse;

intermenstrual bleeding.

In most cases, breakthrough bleeding can only be stopped surgically using vacuum aspiration or curettage. After the operation, the woman is prescribed antibiotic therapy with broad-spectrum drugs (" Metronidazole”) and hormonal treatment with progesterone and estrogen-based agents (“ Yarina», « Janine», « Diana-35»).

Important! If signs of endometriosis appear, you should immediately contact a gynecologist, even if the general state of health remains normal. If treatment is not needed on time, serious complications can occur, for example, inflammation of the endometrium (endometritis). Endometritis often occurs against the background of purulent infectious processes and can lead to blood poisoning. In 20% of women, purulent endometritis causes infertility.

Diseases of the urogenital area

Cystitis (inflammation of the bladder) is considered one of the most common diseases in women. The cause of the pathology is a decrease in immunity as a result of hypothermia, colds, alcohol abuse and smoking. When bacteria or fungi enter the mucous membranes of the urogenital tract and bladder, an inflammatory process develops, which manifests itself with pronounced symptoms.

Signs of acute cystitis include:

temperature increase (above 38 °);

sharp pains of high intensity in the lower abdomen, which can radiate to the lumbar region;

severe burning when trying to empty the bladder;

frequent (most of them false) urge to urinate;

sharp pain after urination.

If a woman has not treated acute cystitis in time, the pathology can become chronic. In this case, there may be no pronounced symptoms, and a sluggish inflammatory process will be manifested by minor abdominal pain and discomfort during urination. Before menstruation, symptoms increase due to a decrease in the activity of the immune system.

Note! In some cases, pain in the lower abdomen may indicate inflammation in the kidneys. Despite the fact that the renal system is located in the lateral parts of the abdomen, the pain syndrome can radiate to the central and lower part. This clinical picture occurs mainly with glomerulonephritis.

Severe pain occurs every month

If the stomach hurts regularly before menstruation, while there are no other symptoms, you should consult a doctor. Such a picture can be observed with malignant tumors of the uterus and vagina, if the pathology is at an early stage. Indirectly, other signs can also indicate cancerous diseases of the uterus, which can only be considered as symptoms of oncological processes in the aggregate.

These include:

weight loss (usually rapid);

periodic increase in temperature (including basal indicators);

arching pain in the lower abdomen during sexual intercourse;

voluminous mucous secretions between the regulation;

spotting or bleeding of varying intensity between periods;

itching of the genitals.

Important! These signs of cancer do not always appear. In some cases, there may be no symptoms at all, so regular abdominal pain that worsens on the eve of menstruation is a reason for an examination.

Video - Why does my stomach hurt before menstruation?

Stomach hurts before menstruation, but menstruation has not come

The most likely cause of pain during this period in the absence of further menstruation is pregnancy. To diagnose pregnancy, you can use home tests in the form of strips with a reagent applied to them or laboratory methods (determining the level of hCG in the blood and urine). A doctor can diagnose pregnancy using a transvaginal ultrasound, but you should know that this method is quite traumatic and can cause an abortion in the early stages.

Pain in the lower abdomen before menstruation is a fairly common problem that almost all women face. In most cases, the pain syndrome is the result of physiological processes that occur in the body during the menstrual cycle, but sometimes serious illnesses can cause such symptoms, therefore, with regular pain during this period, you should not postpone a visit to the gynecologist.