A woman’s menstrual cycle involves the uterus lining getting thicker to prepare for a fertilized egg– if the woman becomes pregnant. When the egg isn’t fertilized, that lining is released from the body. It comes out as blood through the vagina, and this process is called menstruation or a “period.” It typically happens once a month until a woman gets to a certain age (usually between ages 45 and 55) when she’s no longer fertile. The bleeding can last 2 to 7 days.
Why do some women get “heavy periods” where the bleeding is unusually intense? There are five reasons for heavy periods: fibroids, polyps, endometrial hyperplasia, endometrial cancer, and adenomyosis.
Most women at some time or another will get fibroids, which are abnormal growths forming in the muscle of the uterus. They’re often called tumors, but almost all of them are thankfully not cancerous. Now when a woman has large fibroids and/or lots of them, those fibroids tends to push on other organs. This leads to not only heavy periods, but also painful pelvic pressure that bothers the woman.
Like fibroids, polyps are “growths” only this time they’re on the lining of the uterus or at the cervix. They, too, cause heavy periods. They’re mostly non-cancerous.
If a woman develops an abnormally thick lining of the inside surface of their uterus they’ve got endometrial hyperplasia, which could lead to endometrial cancer. Both can cause heavy periods.
Finally, there’s adenomyosis, which involves the growth of endometrial glands into the muscle of the uterus. The uterus is forced to grow bigger and becomes tender. Adenomyosis leads to painful/heavy periods.
If you’re a woman and you’ve been experiencing heavy periods, consider making regular chiropractic care a habit– it can help those who suffer from menstrual problems. Reproductive organs depend on healthy nerve signals coming from a person’s lower spinal column. If there’s a blockage in there, somewhere, a woman can experience pain, cramps, and heavy bleeding. A chiropractor like Dr. Justin Bergin at New City Chiropractic can put the lower spine back into its proper alignment, relieving the pressure on the nerves going to a woman’s
reproductive organs. This, in turn, helps take away menstrual pain and the often associated lower back pain, too, during the “time of the month.” Regular chiropractic care has worked wonders for many women.
