Pain that occurs before menstruation, such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder, is now named and studied in order to be relieved. However, almost half of women suffer at the time of ovulation, but research is still lacking in ways to relieve these pains.
Sf premenstrual syndrome is now known, menstruating people may experience pain at other times in their cycle. At the time of ovulation, for example, many women may experience pain, without these being really taken seriously: 40% of menstruating people would indeed be affected by “Mittelschmerz”, or mid-cycle painreports Stylist UK. These pains are usually felt in the lower abdomen, on one side of the lower abdomen, or in the middle of the pelvis, on the side of the ovary that expelled an unfertilized egg.
What is Mittelschmerz?
At the time ofovulationi.e. 7 to 19 days before the next period, some menstruating people experience severe pain. These are caused by a “rapid increase in the chemical hormone called luteinizing hormone in the body,” the specialist app explains. Clue. This hormone causes an unfertilized egg to be released from a follicle – a fluid-filled sac – in the ovary, causing the muscles in or around the ovary to contract. Luteinizing hormone peaks about 24 to 36 hours before ovulation, when you feel ovulatory painwhich fade after three to twelve hours.
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“Mittelschmerz varies by person, their level of inflammation, and how the rest of the menstrual cycle goes,” Le’Nise Brothers, a menstrual cycle nutritionist, explains to Stylist UK. The pain ranges from moderate to severe, but some women have occasionally had a diagnosis ofappendicitis it was so intenseaccording to a 2022 report on the syndrome published at the National Library of Medicine.
Mittelschmerz, a syndrome still too little known
And if articles dating back to 1949 already mention the Mittelschmerz, there seems to be no study looking at the causes, symptoms or means of relieving painful ovulation, thus helping to reduce the pain felt by women. However, the conversation seems to be changing as more menstruating people are reporting painful ovulation in period tracker appsnote Stylist UK et Clue.
“Most of the time painful ovulation is not a sign of poor health”explains Dr. Melanie Bone, gynecologist, with Stylist. However, this pain can sometimes be the result of a more serious condition, such as a cyst, inflammation, fibroid, or even endometriosis or adenomyosis. To be certain that it is Mittelschmerz and not another condition, the gynecologist recommends observing the pain: if it is ovulation, it should be located on one side at the bottom of the abdomen and last for a fairly short time.
Until further scientific research is carried out on the subject and makes it possible to identify and relieve these pains, specialists recommend the same solutions as for painful periods : apply heat using a hot water bottle for example, take a hot bath or even ibuprofen.
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