Category: 2024 Fall

Cramping My Style: The Biomechanics Behind Period Pain

the image shows a woman in a red dress laying on the ground with knees bent in depiction of period pain

Imagine this: you’re jolted awake in the dead of night, disoriented and feeling a sharp, relentless pain radiating through your lower abdomen. Glancing at the clock, it’s only 3 a.m., but you already know the culprit. Your period has arrived—along with the familiar, sometimes debilitating cramps that will have you reaching for ibuprofen every few hours just to make it through the day. For as high as 45-95% of people who menstruate, this monthly pain feels inevitable, with studies showing that dysmenorrhea is one of the most common gynecological conditions. In this post, we’ll explore the biomechanics of period cramps, diving into what’s causing that pain, how your muscles and nerves are involved, and ways to find relief. 

The uterus, a pear-shaped, thick-walled organ, plays a central role in the female reproductive system, undergoing remarkable changes to support reproduction. It is the site where an embryo implants, grows, and eventually is delivered. Even when not pregnant, the uterus experiences various morphological changes throughout each menstrual cycle—typically lasting about 28 days—caused by changing levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone produced by the ovaries. Research published in the Korean Journal of Family Medicine reveals the first few days of the cycle, these hormonal shifts initiate the process that leads to menstruation, the process through which the lining of the uterine wall, known as endometrial lining, is shredded and expelled through the vagina if a fertilized egg cell is not implanted to begin pregnancy. This expulsion of the broken down endometrial lining is made possible via contractions in the thick, muscular walls of the uterus. These uterine contractions are not only crucial for shedding the endometrial lining but are also the primary source of menstrual cramps. Understanding how and why these contractions occur—and the intense sensations they create—gives insight into the biomechanics of period pain. 

Anatomical images of the human uterus. On the left side is a sideways view, and the right side features a front view.
General anatomy of the uterus. Taken from Myers and Elad. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.1388

Research published by the New York Academy of Sciences shows that throughout the menstrual cycle, the uterus undergoes regular, mild contractions that typically go unnoticed. However, during the first few days of menstruation, the intensity and frequency of these contractions increase significantly, often resulting in pain. This surge in contractions is triggered by a drop in progesterone levels and a corresponding rise in prostaglandins, hormone-like compounds that regulate several bodily functions including inflammation, pain, and muscle contractions. These elevated prostaglandin levels cause stronger uterine contractions and vasoconstriction, or the narrowing of blood vessels as the uterine muscles tighten around them. This constriction limits blood flow to the uterus, causing uterine ischemia—a state where the oxygen and nutrient supply to the uterus is reduced due to the limited blood flow. The result of this is the hypersensitization of pain fibers, contributing to the painful cramping sensation in the pelvis and lower abdomen many experience, known in medical terms as primary dysmenorrhea (PD).

A graph showing the hormone levels during the menstrual cycle. Progesterone is low around day 0 of the cycle.
Graph showing the levels of different hormones during the menstrual cycle. Taken from Myers and Elad. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsbm.1388

PD is often accompanied by a range of symptoms beyond pelvic and abdominal pain, including headaches, backaches, fatigue, changes in sleep patterns, and gastrointestinal issues like constipation or diarrhea.  These physical symptoms frequently concur with psychological symptoms like anxiety and depression, which can vary in intensity depending on factors like age, genetics, overall health, and lifestyle.

As we can see, dysmenorrhea isn’t just an inconvenience—it can seriously impact daily life and overall well-being. Yet, despite its prevalence, it’s often brushed off as “just part of being a woman.” For those who deal with it, though, finding ways to manage the pain can make all the difference. Whether it’s reaching for pain relievers or hormonal contraceptives, or opting for non-medical remedies like a hot water bottle, some gentle yoga, or even a brisk walk, there are options to help ease the discomfort. At the end of the day, understanding what’s happening inside your body is the first step to finding relief. Because when it comes to period cramps, knowledge—and maybe a little heat—is definitely power.

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What are the RICE Method’s Impacts on the Healing Process Following Muscle Injuries?

Have you ever been instructed to use the RICE protocol? Maybe you twisted your ankle on a root, slipped and fell hard on a patch of ice, or pulled your hamstring in an intramural soccer match. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation is the common advice for immediate management of a soft tissue injury. But when you wrap a swollen calf, cover it with ice, and prop it on a pillow, what is actually going on beneath the skin? You may be able to feel the numbing cold of the ice and the compressive pressure of the wrap, but what about the healing processes that are harder to distinguish?

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Diving Deep into the Depths: Exploring Biomechanical Adaptations of Deep-Sea Creatures

If you’ve ever been at the bottom of a deep pool or body of water, then you’ve been able to feel some effects of water, also known as hydrostatic, pressure. Your ears begin to pop, your nasal cavity starts to feel a lot of pressure, and your eyes begin to feel compressed. Now imagine diving 10,000 ft deep, where you’d feel 300 times the pressure you would feel during that small dive. Your bones would begin to crush and crack, your lungs would collapse, and much more. We still know very little about the ocean–it is said that we know more about outer space than the ocean–but as we keep exploring, we learn more about different deep sea creatures–aquatic animals residing over 1,000 m below sea level–and how they survive such immense hydrostatic pressure at abysmal depths. By discovering more about their physical adaptations, we can design better vehicles or modes of withstanding these high pressures to venture deeper into the sea. So, how do these creatures survive such immense pressures? What do they have biomechanically that we don’t possess?

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Colossal Predators: What does a Crocodile’s Bite Force and Jaw Shape say about its Diet?

Crocodiles have been an apex predator since the age of the dinosaurs, and there is no questioning what is keeping them at the top of the food chain: their jaws. A crocodile’s jaw is capable of snapping shut on their prey with extremely large forces. In fact, the American Saltwater Crocodile’s bite force is the strongest of all measured animals on the planet, weighing in at 3,700psi!

The question is: what attribute of the crocodile contributes most to this bite force?

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Evolutionizing ALS Treatment: Can 3D-Printed Muscles Bring Hope to Patients?

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease) is is a rare but serious neurodegenerative condition that gradually causes muscle weakness and loss of control, eventually impacting the ability to move, speak, and breathe. It affects around 20,000-30,000 people in the U.S. at any time, with most cases diagnosed between ages 40 and 70.

Current ALS treatments are limited by a focus on symptom management and lack of understanding of the disease’s cause, but new technologies like 3D printing can offer exciting opportunities for innovation, such as custom prosthetics, artificial muscles, tissue engineering, and personalized medicine, which could significantly improve patient outcomes.

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From Strain to Pain: Role of Altered Loadings at Joints as Onset for Osteoarthritis (OA)

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Are We Fumbling the Ball on Player Safety?

an opposing team's football player tackling another football player by the legs
A football player tackling an opposing team’s player by the legs. Photo by KeithJJ on Pixabay.

Sports fans, especially those that watch college football (CFB) and the National Football League (NFL), are familiar with players going on “concussion protocol”. The consistent and often violent hits endured each game prompts the discussion of traumatic brain injuries players may experience trying to make a catch or tackle an opponent.

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Engineering Hope: Advancing Bladder Biomechanics for Life-Changing Solutions

In a quiet hospital room, a young girl sat by her father’s bedside, watching him shift uncomfortably, tethered to a catheter that had become both a necessity and a burden. Her father, once active and independent, had been struggling with spinal cord injury for years. The catheter, while helping him manage his bladder, came with its own set of complications. For people like her father, or those with neurogenic bladder disorder, intractable incontinence, or even bladder cancer, the loss of bladder function can feel like a never-ending cycle of discomfort and distress. Relying on catheters, while necessary, often leads to Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI), further worsening their condition and even accelerating disease progression.1

Lymphatic Vessels: Your Body’s Fluid Highway

4 pictures side by side of 4 stages of upper limb lymphedema. 2 arms of a person extended out in front of them as swelling increases from left (stage 1) to right (stage 4). Taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Lymphedema staging for upper limbs. By DocHealer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64120555

Have you ever heard about the lymphatic system that runs through your body? This system consists of organs, tissues and vessels that are important because it helps your immune cells move, helps your body absorb nutrients, and helps keep all the fluids balanced within your body. It is important to understand the way this system works, because when this system is damaged or not working properly it can lead to severe swelling of limbs (lymphedema), buildup of fats within your blood vessels which can eventually heart attacks (atherosclerosis), and even can contribute to cancer (To learn more).

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“Ant Power Unleashed: The Secret of Muscle and Scale”

Image credit: Pixabay (adopted from Leuzinger 2022)

Ever wondered how ants generate such extraordinary force despite their size? Beyond curiosity, understanding their biomechanics can inspire real-world advancements in fields like micro-robotics, bio-engineering, materials science, and prosthetics. Discover how these tiny powerhouses hold the key to strength, efficiency, and adaptability.

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