Tips for Alleviating Period Pain with Traditional Chinese Medicine
If you struggle with period pain or dysmenorrhoea, it can be challenging to deal with in your daily life. However, traditional Chinese medicine has several remedies to offer that have been used for many centuries. With a focus on holistic support, traditional Chinese medicine stands out for its balance of natural remedies and other recommendations to help support healthy lifestyles.
This article will explore how to alleviate period pain with traditional Chinese medicine, specifically looking at the latest insights on how this field views painful periods, what treatment they recommend, and how it can help.
How Does Traditional Chinese Medicine View Painful Periods?
In the field of traditional Chinese medicine, painful periods are viewed as a result of blood stagnation and imbalance within the body. Women are meant to have periods that are not painful, but according to traditional Chinese medicine, these painful periods occur because of Qi imbalances. Qi is your body’s energy, but when you become stressed, this energy does not flow as it should.
Additionally, painful periods, according to traditional Chinese medicine, are also due to blood stagnation or too much cold within the body. That’s why many Asian cultures recommend hot or warming foods, like soup, to help heal the body and encourage healthier menstruation.
Dietary and Herbal Recommendations to Alleviate Painful Periods
If you would like to try some natural and traditional Chinese medicine remedies to alleviate painful periods, one of the first recommendations many practitioners make is in regard to food. To encourage healthy menstrual cycles, traditional Chinese medicine experts recommend avoiding cold foods and instead eating warming foods, like ginger and cinnamon.
In fact, in nations like China and Taiwan, where traditional Chinese medicine is readily practised, warm ginger tea and rose tea can actually help with period pain [1,2]. Some other herbal remedies that you might have heard of that are derived from traditional Chinese medicine include Dong Quai and Chuan Xiong, both of which are herbs that can aid with alleviating menstrual pain [3,4].
Using Acupuncture and Acupressure to Help with Painful Periods
Aside from herbs and dietary changes that you can implement in your life, you can also handle painful periods with acupuncture and acupressure, another modality within traditional Chinese medicine [5]. Many practitioners and acupuncturists use specific points, like those along your inner shinbone, to help with alleviating period pain.
Studies have shown that women who received acupressure during their menstrual cycle to alleviate pain due to cold and dampness within the body experienced noticeable pain relief. So, if you find yourself struggling with painful cycles, it might be worth a visit to the acupuncturist or an acupressure centre!
Support Your Health with Traditional Chinese Medicine
When it comes to your painful periods, you’re not alone, and there are plenty of remedies that can help. With the information provided in this article, you can take steps to heal yourself naturally, providing holistic support for your overall health. For more traditional Chinese medicine tips and recommendations, view our website today to learn more.
References:
Daily JW, Zhang X, Kim DS, Park S. Efficacy of ginger for alleviating the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Pain Medicine. 2015 Dec 1;16(12):2243-55.
Tseng YF, Chen CH, Yang YH. Rose tea for relief of primary dysmenorrhea in adolescents: a randomized controlled trial in Taiwan. Journal of midwifery & women's health. 2005 Sep 1;50(5):e51-7.
Lee HW, Jun JH, Kil KJ, Ko BS, Lee CH, Lee MS. Herbal medicine (Danggui Shaoyao San) for treating primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Maturitas. 2016 Mar 1;85:19-26.
Wang X, Zhang Z, Wang H, Ma R, Wang L, Zhang X, Zhang Y, Wang R. Chinese herbal medicine for primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of 54 randomized controlled trials. European Journal of Integrative Medicine. 2023 Aug 19:102293.
Woo HL, Ji HR, Pak YK, Lee H, Heo SJ, Lee JM, Park KS. The efficacy and safety of acupuncture in women with primary dysmenorrhea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine. 2018 Jun 1;97(23):e11007.
