The Pain Is Real… and It’s Common.
If you’ve ever cuddled a heating pad to your belly while curled in a ball, you’re not alone. Up to 80% of women experience painful periods (dysmenorrhea), with at least 10–20% experiencing symptoms so severe they interfere with daily life.
That’s not just uncomfortable — it’s disruptive and often misunderstood.
Now consider this: the average woman will menstruate for about 40 years, spending an estimated 6.25 years of her life actively bleeding.
That’s over 2,300 days where period-related pain, bloating, mood shifts, and fatigue might be affecting her body — and her pelvic floor. And even more unfortunate, the pain doesn't always stop there.
What Happens in the Pelvic Floor During Period Pain?
Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles, ligaments, and fascia at the base of your pelvis. These muscles support your uterus, bladder, and rectum, and they respond directly to pain, stress, and inflammation.
When you're in pain (from cramps, bloating, digestive distress...), your body reacts instinctively:
Muscles tense to protect you: like clenching during a stubbed toe or wincing when you hit your elbow. This includes the deep pelvic floor muscles, which can contract in response to uterine cramping or chronic discomfort. Over time, this leads to holding patterns: unconscious gripping, tightness, and disruption of normal muscle tone or coordination.
The Clenching Cycle: How Pain Triggers More Pain
Tight pelvic floor muscles don’t just stay isolated.
They refer pain to the lower back, hips, inner thighs, and even the abdomen.
Chronic tension can interfere with bladder, bowel, and sexual function.
And ironically, a tense pelvic floor can make menstrual cramps feel worse… by increasing pressure and limiting blood flow. It is the gift that keeps on giving...
So the pain-tension cycle becomes self-perpetuating:
Pain → muscle guarding → restricted movement → more pain → more guarding.
This isn’t a mental block. It’s a neuromuscular reflex, reinforced over time unless we intervene gently and consistently.
What You Can Do: Soften the Root
The good news? The pelvic floor responds beautifully to gentle movement, breathwork, and nervous system regulation.
Try:
Diaphragmatic breathing with awareness at the base of the pelvis
Supported hip-opening yoga poses (like child’s pose or supported butterfly)
Somatic awareness practices that invite sensation without judgment
Warm baths or castor oil packs to bring circulation and soothe tension
You Deserve Ease — Not Endurance
Painful periods aren’t a badge of womanhood. They’re a signal. Your body is asking for care, attention, and release, not suppression or dismissal.
Supporting the pelvic floor is about more than kegels and core strength. It’s about learning to let go, to feel safe softening, and to reconnect with a part of our bodies that holds so much.