It is possible that we have ever heard that masturbation relieves menstrual cramps. This is partly true, due to the neurochemicals and hormones that our brain releases as a result of orgasm.
But we cannot forget that the period hurts us for very different reasons and not all women work the same way.
The sex toy company Womanizer recently launched a clinical study on this topic. The aim of the research was to determine if regular masturbation has positive effects on menstrual cramps, and the conclusion they drew after interviewing more than 500 women is that, in fact, it can. Although masturbation is not a source of relief in all cases, about 70% of the participants reported that the intensity of the pain had decreased throughout the study.
There are precedents for this study. It is not the first time that the effects that orgasms can have on the health of people, both women and men, have been analyzed. The main novelty presented by the Womanizer research has been its methodology: the intensity and frequency of menstrual pain was controlled for several months, including before and after the period of regular masturbation. Thus, a special improvement has been seen in symptoms such as colic, chest pain, abdominal swelling, mental restlessness or exhaustion.
All this occurs thanks to the neurophysiological discharge that orgasms cause in people, as explained by the gynecologist and obstetrician Miriam Al Adib, one of the collaborating doctors in the study. “Orgasm releases a large amount of hormones, neurotransmitters, and neurohormones that have a directly anxiolytic and analgesic effect,” she says.
Orgasms trigger a release of stress-inhibiting hormones and neurotransmitters.
These hormones, combined, would be the ones that produce a feeling of relaxation and well-being after reaching the climax. “For example, oxytocin is released, which inhibits the stress axis and directly has analgesic effects. A large amount of endorphins, which are pleasure hormones, is also released, and dopamine is released. In addition, the neurophysiological discharge itself activates circulation, metabolism…”, says Al Adib.
Orgasm releases a large amount of neurohormones that have an anxiolytic and analgesic effect.
Miriam Al AdibGynecologist and obstetrician
But this should not be taken as a general recommendation for all women to try to relieve their menstrual pains by resorting to an orgasm, because in some cases the contractions of the uterus that cause the orgasm can be annoying. It all depends on what the cause of the pain is.
“The pain of menstruation can be caused by many things,” says Francisco Carmona, head of the Gynecology Service at the Hospital ClÃnic de Barcelona. “If the underlying problem, which causes the pain, is a disease of the uterus, such as endometriosis, adenomyosis or uterine fibroids, for example, orgasm does not provide any relief.” But sometimes, such as in cases of primary dysmenorrhea, it may help.
Menstrual pain is not normal and should not be normalized
Francisco CarmonaHead of Gynecology Hospital ClÃnic Barcelona
Part of the problem with menstrual cramps is that they are very normalized and we often don’t question what their origin and solution might be.
“The period pain is not normal,” says Carmona, “it is difficult to measure and objectify, but no professional should say that this is normal and that it has to be endured.” For this reason, he explains that the scale to measure pain must always be subjective. “If 0 is ‘it doesn’t hurt at all’ and 10 is ‘the worst pain I can imagine’, from 4 onwards it should be considered that this menstrual pain is not normal”, indicates the head of Gynecology at the ClÃnic.
Menstrual cramps can be a symptom of a disease or hormonal imbalance .
Even when there is no associated disease, menstrual cramps have to have a cause behind them. According to Al Adib, “generally it is a disturbance in the balance of inflammatory mediators. But there may also be, between estrogen and progesterone, an imbalance towards estrogen.”
In this case, explains the specialist, the solution would be to see what is failing in the axis of sexual hormones. “There is a great relationship between this axis and the stress axis. In fact, when we have a lot of stress, cortisol is generated, and this causes an imbalance in favor of estrogen; therefore, when stress is lowered, you will surely suffer less premenstrual syndrome and less menstrual pain”, they indicate.
Environmental factors
And like stress, there are other environmental factors that can influence the symptoms of menstruation. “For example, eating healthy, sunbathing to synthesize vitamin D, exercising and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle are things that favor the proper functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, that of sex hormones,” he comments.
Good habits, in general, improve this situation. In the same way, pleasure, an active sexual life, whether alone or with a partner, helps to inhibit stress, has an analgesic effect and improves the balance between the different functions of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.
