According to current understanding, menstrual cramps only happen in cycles in which an egg is released, or an ovulatory cycle. But new research from the University of British Columbia (UBC) is challenging this notion. The findings, published in the Journal of Pain Research , reveal that some women not only experience cramps when no egg is released, but that cramps can be more severe and last longer during these anovulatory cycles.
I was surprised to see significant cramps in menstrual cycles with or without ovulation, which challenges current thinking." Dr. Paul Yong, co-author, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UBC and Canada Research Chair in Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Menstrual cramps are very common, but not always well-treated by currently recommended ibuprofen therapy and may cause teen and young adult women to miss education or work.
It has long been believed that menstrual cramps are triggered by falling progesterone levels at the end of ovulatory cycles, which prompts the release of hormone-like substances, prostaglandins, that cause uterine muscle contractions. "Since 1938, when a small research study found no cramps in anovulatory studies, no one has questioned the belief that cramps only occur in ovulatory cycles," said co-author Dr. Sewon Bann, internist and endocrinology fellow at UBC.
For the study, the researchers monitored 75 women aged 19-35 through a single menstrual cycle. The women recorded their experiences with cramp presence and in.
