Long-term menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea) might lead to increased risk of chronic pain in other parts of the body and even cause brain damage, according to research conducted by a team of doctors at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University.
The clinical research led by Hsieh Jen-chuen (謝仁俊), an attending physician at the hospital and a professor at the university’s Institute of Brain Science, found that women who endure long-term dysmenorrhea can experience changes in cerebral gray matter, effecting the brain’s pain modulatory systems, and are likely to suffer from functional pain disorder later in life.
Hsieh said primary dysmenorrhea — cramping pain in the lower abdomen occurring just before or during menstruation in the absence of other diseases or disorders in reproductive organs — is a common problem that many women face regularly.
While the mechanism of primary dysmenorrhea is unknown, a commonly accepted explanation is that it is caused by inflammation in the uterus, contraction of uterine muscles and narrowing of blood vessels, he said.
Chao Hsiang-tai (趙湘台), director of the hospital’s Department of Gynecology, said a poll found that about one-third of female students at Taiwanese universities suffer from dysmenorrhea and among them one-sixth feel severe pain — to the extent that they cannot attend classes.
Having conducted research on more than 200 women aged between 20 and 30 with severe dysmenorrhea — above seven in the Numeric Rating Scale — and comparing their magnetic resonance imaging scans with those of women without dysmenorrhea, the research team found that long-term severe dysmenorrhea can cause functional and structural changes to the brain.
The changes in the brain structure can also lead to fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes muscle pain and fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and chronic pain in the lower back, Hsieh said.
The team considers the structural changes in the brain caused by primary dysmenorrhea an important reason for chronic functional pain in middle-aged women, he added.
Hsieh said women with dysmenorrhea should not worry, because changes in the brain might also occur in normal people, but added that those who suffer from severe pain during dysmenorrhea should see a doctor as soon as possible and receive treatment to avoid possible brain damage.
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