Painful menstruation is a one of the most common gynecological disorders. There are a variety of symptoms such as painful abdomen, painful lower back, and headaches. For the severe case, pain killer may be needed to relieve the pain.

Period pain, formally called dysmenorrhea, can be divided to two types; primary (functional) dysmenorrhea and secondary (organic) dysmenorrhea.

Primary dysmenorrhea is commonly occurs in teenage girls and young women in their early 20's. It is not caused by inflammation, new growths, or anatomic factors. The main causes include constitution, excessive secretion of prostaglandin, immature uterus or ovaries, cold, and stress.

Secondary dysmenorrhea possesses some disease on uterus or ovaries. It normally develops in women after the late of 20's. The pain starts when the period starts, and can persist for over 3 days. Some women can experience pain between periods. The main causes include endometriosis, uterine fibroid, and adenomyosis of the uterus.

Tightness on ilium crest, lower abdomen, or inguinal area can often be seen in women who suffer from period pain. Abnormal shape of the sacral bone can be also observed. Tightness and no elastic force on sacral region can be found when mild pressure is applied.

Tightness around ovaries can give us an indication of the severity of the symptoms. Tightness of the abdomen around both ovaries may indicate pain every month. In case there is tightness on only one side of the ovary, period pain may occurs strongly every other month.