Menstrual pain is a common occurrence among women of any age. However, some of them also notice certain discomfort more or less in the middle of the menstrual cycle, coinciding with ovulation. This is also known as intermenstrual pelvic pain. The truth is that it worries many women because it is not well understood why you have pain in the abdomen when you do not have your period. If this is your case, surely on some occasion you have asked yourself the question: why does my belly hurt when I ovulate?
Initially, you can rest assured, since it is a more common pain than it seems and that it is not always associated with health problems or the female reproductive system. From we explain the causes why you notice these discomforts so that you stop worrying or know when you should go to the doctor.
Why I Have Ovular Pain and Inflammation
In general, ovulation pain is not caused by any abnormalities or serious health problems. Rather, it is part of the process that the woman's body has to do every month on the occasion of menstruation. Now, it is true that there are a number of causes that explain the fact that there are women who have discomfort and even pain that make it difficult for them to day. Among the main causes are:
- Inflammation of the ovarian follicles: At the beginning of each menstrual cycle, the maturation of many ovarian follicles occurs, although then finally only one is the one that becomes the dominant one. In this process, inflammation of these ovarian follicles occurs, which is what generates the pain. In addition, as maturation occurs in both ovaries, it is likely to hurt on both sides of the belly or that this pain is always noticeable in the same place (depending on where the dominant ovarian follicle is), or that it is noticed alternately on one side or the other of the gut.
- Rupture of the wall of the ovary: The rupture of the wall of the ovary is another possible cause that explains why your belly hurts when you ovulate. And, when ovulation occurs, the egg has to pass through the walls of the ovary. This process is what produces pain and inflammation.
- Passage through the fallopian tubes: after ovulation, the egg has to go down the tubes into the uterus. This causes the fallopian tubes to contract to encourage the egg to reach its destination, which generates pelvic discomfort.
- Muscle contractions: sometimes, the pain simply responds to muscle contractions that occur at the time of ovulation because, both the muscles of the ovaries and the ligaments that surround them, have to contract when there is an increase in the level of prostaglandins, which are lipid substances that act on the body and certain systems, like the player.
However, if you think ovulation pain and pregnancy may be related in your case, this other article on How to Tell If I'm Pregnant may help.
When the ovaries hurt, before or after ovulating
Although there are causes that explain the pain in the belly when ovulating, the truth is that it is not known exactly why some women do notice the discomfort and others do not, since the process that the body follows in each menstrual cycle is the same in each woman. What has been found is that it is a normal process because it does not usually respond to any physical cause or serious health problem. Anyway, it is advisable to pay attention to the symptoms to recognize it or know if you have to go quickly to the doctor:
- Pelvic-abdominal pain: Pain may occur on only one side or both. It is also likely to manifest a month on one side and then on the other during another menstrual cycle. Whatever the side, the pain is noticeable in the area where the female reproductive system is located.
- Mild or moderate pain: however, there are women who notice it with greater intensity. The latter is less common, but it can happen. Some even find it difficult to do so, their daily activity.
- Duration of pain: the pain usually lasts a few minutes, although it can last for hours and last up to a whole day or 48 hours.
- Mid-cycle pain: The pain always coincides with the middle of the menstrual cycle, which means that ovarian pain occurs BEFORE the period.
As we see, ovarian pain occurs during the ovulation process, that is, before the period, which helps many women to know their fertile days and get pregnant. However, if any more symptoms are noticed, you have never had that pain and it begins to occur or any other anomaly is observed, it is advisable to go to the doctor as soon as possible, especially if you do not have the annual gynecological check-ups.
Very painful ovulation, what do I do?
For those cases in which there is no because that justifies the pain when ovulating, a treatment is prescribed that, normally, consists of treating the discomfort, being the most common the taking of analgesics and anti-inflammatories. However, in women who have difficulty living their day to day normally because of these discomforts, the most common is taking oral contraceptives to avoid ovulation. In addition, you can also follow a series of tips and guidelines to avoid these belly pains:
- Apply heat to the area: this is so that the muscles relax and no contractions occur. You can put a hot water bottle or dry heat blankets or electric mats for 20 minutes every two hours.
- Do moderate exercise: and, above all, hypopressive abdominals, because they allow to strengthen the muscles of that area.
- Take relaxing infusions: especially plants that help relieve the discomfort of menstruation and that are also relaxing such as passionflower, juniper, sage, mugwort, vitex or lemon balm, among others.
From, we hope we have answered you with these explanations to your question of why my belly hurts when I ovulate? It is always convenient that you consult with the doctor to rule out the causes that may be behind these discomforts so that you are calm and, if you have to follow a treatment, it is the most suitable.
