Dysmenorrhea is the pain or discomfort ("cramps") during or just before a menstrual period. In Ayurveda menstrual cycle is known as Aartava and this condition is known as Kasht-Aartava. Here Kasht means the painful and Aartava is same- Periods. So this is all about the painful menstrual cycles. According to a study almost 50 % women are suffering from Dysmenorrhea and all of them feel that this is common to happen so, because every next women is having this kind of the problems and they (females) keep on "Suppressing" this condition by taking some kind of Pain Killers or anti- spasmodic medicines. This is never a solution or treatment of the Dysmenorrhea. Solution is the complete cure of the condition and removal of underlying cause of the problem. Pain Killers hide the problem, these never treat a condition, so this is not advisable in any condition to avoid this kind of diseases.

Types of Dysmenorrhea:

There are two types of Dysmenorrhea - primary and secondary Dysmenorrhea.

Primary Dysmenorrhea is severe, disabling cramps without underlying illness.Symptoms may include

• Backache, 
• Leg pain, 
• Nausea, 
• Vomiting, 
• Diarrhea, 
• Headache,
• Dizziness. 

This kind of dysmenorrhea usually affects young woman within two years of the onset of menstruation and lasts one or two days each month.

Secondary Dysmenorrhea is cramps caused by another medical problem(s)such as endometriosis (abnormalities in the lining of the uterus), adenomyosis (nonmalignant growth of the endometrium into the muscular layer of the uterus),pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, cervical narrowing, uterine malposition, pelvic tumors or an IUD (intra-uterine device). This condition usually occurs in older women.

Cramps  

When the menstrual cycle begins, prostaglandins (chemical substances that are made by cells in the lining of the uterus) are released by the endometrial cells as they are shed from the uterine lining, causing the uterine muscles to contract. If excessive prostaglandin is present, the normal contraction response can become a strong and painful spasm. As it spasms, the blood flow is cut off temporarily, depriving the uterine muscle of oxygen and thus causing a "cramp." The cramps themselves help push out the menstrual discharge.

Excessive prostaglandin release is also responsible for contraction of the smooth muscle in the intestinal tract; hence the diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Headache and dizziness may also be the result of high prostaglandin levels.

Concepts and Ayurvedic Treatment of Dysmenorrhea :

According to Ayurveda, Aartava or Menstruation is a phenomenon, which is controlled and governed by Vata and specifically the Apana Vayu, the sub type of the Vata Dosha. So in Dysmenorrhea, the first important thing is to control the Vata. Vata as we all know is a factor which "holds" and "moves" all other factors of the body in its desirable directions, so this is important that in a female patient Vata should be under control to remove this condition of the Dysmenorrhea completely.

Vata is associated with the stress, with dryness, with movements and with a lot of other factors and all these factors should be under control to get rid of the problem properly. Generally it is noted that Periods bring a lot of anxiety and depression and females went under stress. This stress will never help any one this will only increase the problem and severity of the problem. It generally happens with the women who are suffering from Premenstrual Syndrome.

The second thing which worsens the condition of the Dysmenorrhea is the Constipation. This is a well known fact that Apana Vayu has its head quarters in the last part of the intestine. So if there will be some of the problems, it will only aggravate the condition of the Dysmenorrhea. This has become very common that today we hate fats. Because we all feel or think that Fats are the "unhealthy" traits of the food. This is never true at all. Because these are not the fats alone who are culprit...these are we, who decides how we are taking these fats and how much are we taking all these, in routine! 

People do face some pain during the periods, which can be treated by some remedies.

Don't make your body addicted for the Painkillers, because all these pain killers are really harmful for you and will cause a lot of problems for you in future also. Pain killers never treat cause of the pain these made you unconscious for the pain you are suffering with.

On the same hormonal therapy is also harmful up to some extent and here are the side effects for the hormonal therapies -

• Bloating
• Breast soreness
• Headaches
• Mood swings
• Nausea
• Water retention
• Uterine Cancer 
• Cardiovascular Problems
• Blood Clots which may lead to Thrombosis