GOQii

Blog

  • HOME
  • HEALTHY LIVING
  • FITNESS
  • HEALTHY RECIPES
  • USER STORIES
  • KARMA
  • BUY GOQii

August 10, 2020 By Soni Thakur Leave a Comment

Menstrual Cramps & Ways To Combat It

menstrual crampsMenstrual cramps are also called as Dysmenorrhea, like its name says ‘dys’ meaning difficult, ‘meno’ meaning month and ‘rrhea’ meaning flow i.e. difficult or painful monthly flow, and often a nightmare for most women. Its usual onset occurs around the time that menstruation begins. The pain is usually in the pelvis or lower abdomen.

Apart from this, there are certain other manifestations which women put up with during menstruation:

  • Nausea
  • Acidity
  • Acne
  • Bloating
  • Dizziness
  • Mood swings

Why Do We Get Menstrual Cramps?

Menstrual cramps are caused by an excess of “prostaglandins” hormones that are released from the endometrium (inner lining) of the uterus as it prepares to shed off. This is a necessary part of the process but in excess, it causes pain. If the uterus contracts strongly, blood flow is reduced and the supply of oxygen to the uterus muscle tissue decreases, causing severe pain.

Why Do Some Women Experience More Cramps Than Others?

This could be possibly due to inflammation. As a more inflamed tissue tends to produce more prostaglandins, it causes more severe pain. Other factors that contribute to menstrual cramps include:

  • Poor eating habits
  • Not having adequate amount of potassium and magnesium in diet
  • Lack of Exercise
  • Smoking
  • Drinking Alcohol

How Do You Combat It?

Women have to go through a lot in general, so there is no chance these creepy cramps would spare us but we know how to fight it! So, let’s find out some easy and effective ways to combat menstrual cramps.

  1. Putting a heating pad on your belly or lower back.
  2. Rubbing Lavender oil on your belly helps relieve period pain.
  3. Ginger tea: Boil a piece of ginger in 250 ml water, simmer for 4-5 minutes and drink whenever required.
  4. Carom seeds: Having 1 tbsp. of carom seeds by boiling them in a glass of water may ease menstrual cramps.
  5. Eat potassium and magnesium rich foods like Bananas, oranges, grapefruit, raisins, dates, mushrooms, cucumbers, potatoes, sweet potatoes and dark chocolate (70% or more), nuts, legumes, tofu ,seeds, wholegrains ,green leafy vegetables respectively.
  6. Use yoga: Some simple yoga poses to try out are Head to Knee forward bend, bound angle pose, Child’s pose and inverted leg pose.
  7. Listen to good music that changes your mood or take a walk in nature or talk to your friends and family members. This will keep you engaged and diverted so you may not feel too much pain.

So, let’s try out these simple and effective ways to fight menstrual cramps and ease those difficult days! We hope this article helps you. Do leave your thoughts in the comments below. For more tips, check out Healthy Reads or tune into LIVE women’s health sessions on GOQii Play. 

#BeTheForce  

March 22, 2018 By Mitali Ambekar 9 Comments

Should Women Workout during their Menstrual Cycle?

women workout

This is a question that is always asked by most women who have either started working out or who have been in sports or go on treks, etc. How can a woman or a girl be out of workout for a span of 4-6 days, especially the ones who play a sport? There Could be varied opinions on the same.

If we put in little logic, it does show us that working out during menstrual cycle would help every woman feel better. How is that? In general, when anyone works out, our body tends to release endorphin’s, the feel-good hormone and makes one feel good and happy. In the case of women, this is especially true, when the other hormones are already making her feel irritated, low on energy and weak during her periods.

Another positive is, better circulation and higher metabolism, both of which will make sure that all the process in the body are working well thereby also making the woman’s uterine muscles relax, which otherwise are constricted during periods and can be a major cause for cramps.  Better circulation can even help in relieving headaches and other small aches, which otherwise happens with iron deficiency during this phase.

Having said this, the intensity of workouts should not be very high, it can be low to moderate.  Also, before starting off, you may not feel like doing so but, as you start with a light warm-up such as a slow walk, followed by some stretching it will make you feel better and thus take the work out forward slowly and steadily. In fact, light stretching will even help you get rid of congestion in the pelvic area.

Women, who suffer severe pain and more bleeding should avoid it, as exercise can make them feel weaker and can make it very painful. Again the question pops up, why and how?

Well, during periods the woman’s Uterus and the veins inside are a little sensitive, thus any pressure on it coming be it in the form of exercise or any other activity can cause more pain. Thus, women who already encounter a lot of pain should avoid taking the risk of working out and thus rest for 2-3 days and then get back to workouts. Failing to do so can cause more weakness with loss of blood due to excessive bleeding.

All I would suggest you do is some light walk, stretching, yoga. Few can try swimming too as it equally helps in feeling fresh, light and easing off the pain.

As a precautionary step, always remember to eat something before the workouts to get the dash of energy needed to workout.

 

Search

Recent Posts

  • Sangeeta Jajodia goes from a Simple Housewife to a Super Woman!
  • 4 Effective Tips For Managing Couple Conflicts
  • Sleep Your Way to More Muscles
  • 5 Powerful Ways Of Meditation
  • Foods That Help You Boost Your Mood

Stay Updated

Archives

  • March 2021 (6)
  • February 2021 (24)
  • January 2021 (26)
  • December 2020 (27)
  • November 2020 (25)
  • October 2020 (27)
  • September 2020 (26)
  • August 2020 (26)
  • July 2020 (26)
  • June 2020 (27)
  • May 2020 (25)
  • April 2020 (25)
  • March 2020 (24)
  • February 2020 (21)
  • January 2020 (17)
  • December 2019 (21)
  • November 2019 (24)
  • October 2019 (25)
  • September 2019 (23)
  • August 2019 (18)
  • July 2019 (23)
  • June 2019 (22)
  • May 2019 (25)
  • April 2019 (23)
  • March 2019 (22)
  • February 2019 (21)
  • January 2019 (25)
  • December 2018 (16)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (12)
  • September 2018 (13)
  • August 2018 (23)
  • July 2018 (17)
  • June 2018 (23)
  • May 2018 (17)
  • April 2018 (28)
  • March 2018 (19)
  • February 2018 (14)
  • January 2018 (22)
  • December 2017 (16)
  • November 2017 (28)
  • October 2017 (22)
  • September 2017 (23)
  • August 2017 (10)
  • July 2017 (12)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (14)
  • April 2017 (9)
  • March 2017 (7)
  • February 2017 (7)
  • January 2017 (12)
  • December 2016 (10)
  • November 2016 (8)
  • October 2016 (9)
  • September 2016 (8)
  • August 2016 (13)
  • July 2016 (11)
  • June 2016 (10)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (18)
  • March 2016 (19)
  • February 2016 (8)
  • January 2016 (8)
  • December 2015 (6)
  • November 2015 (10)
  • October 2015 (8)
  • September 2015 (10)
  • August 2015 (14)
  • July 2015 (12)
  • June 2015 (15)
  • May 2015 (9)
  • April 2015 (13)
  • March 2015 (10)
  • February 2015 (6)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (12)
  • October 2014 (6)
  • September 2014 (16)
  • August 2014 (14)
  • July 2014 (9)
  • June 2014 (3)
  • May 2014 (8)
  • April 2014 (5)
Sangeeta Jajodia

Sangeeta Jajodia goes from a Simple Housewife to a Super Woman!

They say being a housewife is a full time job, and quite rightly so. As one among many, 52 year old Sangeeta Jajodia from Mumbai, led a very busy life. Her routine revolved around tending to the needs and demands of her grown up children, cooking, cleaning and … [Read More...]

Shreejit Nandkumar

Shreejit Nandkumar Reaches His Health Goal With Determination and Consistency!

Losing weight or getting fit isn’t just about hitting the gym regularly or having a fitness regime. Pumping iron by itself cannot guarantee sustainable weight loss. It needs to be supplemented with a proper diet as well. One of our players, Shreejit Nandkumar, learned this little fact that changed his life forever.   A 47 year […]

Nikita Jain

Nikita Jain Battles A Rare Condition & Wins With The Right Coaching

The pandemic wasn’t easy on a lot of us. The entire lockdown, coupled with social distancing and movement restriction impacted a lot of people in different ways. A unique problem that one of our players Nikita Jain suffered from was Vocal Cord Dysfunction – a condition which was latent in her till the lockdown. Nikita […]

Mukul Bhartiya

Always Look At The Big Picture – Mukul Bhartiya User Journey

We often treat health as a one off objective but what happens once we achieve our goal? Do we fall back to our previous habits? While keeping health goals, it is important to always look at the big picture. While losing weight is a good target, being healthy should always be a lifelong goal! This […]

  • HOME
  • HEALTHY LIVING
  • FITNESS
  • HEALTHY RECIPES
  • USER STORIES
  • KARMA
  • BUY GOQii

Copyright ©2016 GOQii