The concept of “climax” is of Greek origin, and literally translates as a step on a ladder. Indeed, there comes a moment in a woman’s life when she crosses the stage beyond which the period of decline of childbearing function begins.
The menopausal period is accompanied by a whole “bouquet” of natural symptoms, but some of them can become pathologies. So, when the lower abdomen and back hurt during menopause, many women are seized with horror. They don't know whether they are healthy or not. We will consider in detail all aspects of this issue.
How to treat pain during menopause
Menopause has a number of characteristic symptoms - hot flashes, increased sweating, urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness. In addition to these specific manifestations, women suffer from pain in the lower abdomen during menopause. For many women, this symptom causes panic and fear of developing a deadly disease.
Often they make a terrible diagnosis for themselves, and then either begin to self-medicate or let the situation take its course. Other women, on the contrary, consider it natural that their stomach hurts during menopause and do not seek medical help.
Expert opinion
Alexandra Yurievna
General practitioner, associate professor, teacher of obstetrics, work experience 11 years.
The truth is in the middle. Pain during menopause signals that a certain problem has arisen in the functioning of some organ or system of the female body.
Important points
Not all pain is caused by menopause itself.
Pain in the lower abdomen indicates the occurrence of pathology at work:
- organs of the reproductive system;
- urinary system;
- intestines.
In addition, such pain occurs with the development of spinal pathologies, liver diseases or various neurological diseases. The female body thus reports excess physical activity. Thus, stomach pain during menopause can occur for various reasons.
Therefore, it is very important to find time to visit a doctor and diagnose the disease in a timely manner. If a disease is detected at an early stage, it is much easier and faster to cure.
And if the pain was caused only by too much physical labor, say at the dacha, then a visit to the doctor will save the nervous system. After all, a rich imagination can give a lady more than one version of a “terrible” disease in a very short period of time.
Methods of treatment and prevention
Treatment of pain in the lower abdomen and back depends on the identified cause contributing to this discomfort, and may consist of taking drugs belonging to the following pharmacological groups:
- antibacterial;
- hormone-containing;
- painkillers, etc.
Sometimes qualified specialists prescribe the use of drugs with an anti-menopausal spectrum of action.
They help relieve unpleasant symptoms and improve overall well-being and quality of life. Along with the many developed medications against the symptoms of menopause, the following representatives are most effective:
- Natural support for the female body in the form of herbal medicine Estrovel (Russian production). This drug is designed to eliminate menopausal discomfort in the general well-being of representatives of the fair half of humanity.
- The German drug Klimadinon Uno , which includes many extracts of medicinal plants, is characterized by an excellent effect in eliminating the unpleasant symptoms that accompany the processes of decline in the functionality of the reproductive organs.
- Another equally effective drug in the fight against menopausal syndrome is Feminal .
For preventive purposes, aimed at preventing the development of menopausal syndrome and the occurrence of pain in various areas of the female body, it is recommended to use not homeopathic preparations, but folk decoctions, infusions and tinctures based on herbal preparations. Traditional methods of treatment can also be used as a supplement to the main treatment of menopause, but only after agreement with the attending physician.
Lifestyle, diet, and level of physical activity are of great preventive importance.
During menopause, it is very important to pay maximum attention to your health, namely:
- rationalize and balance your diet;
- prevent the occurrence of stressful situations;
- maintain a moderate level of physical activity with an optimal amount of rest;
- carry out timely treatment of pathologies in the reproductive system;
- spend more time outdoors.
If you properly monitor your health, observing the above preventive measures, there is every chance of maintaining an optimal standard of living during menopause and normalizing your well-being.
Interesting video on this topic:
Menopause, or menopause, is the process of natural aging of a woman’s body, during which the gradual decline of sexual functions begins. Usually begins at 49-50 years old.
During this period, ovarian activity ceases, the woman cannot have children, and menstruation disappears. Dramatic changes are difficult for a woman to bear, causing depression and a nervous breakdown.
Among the many manifestations and symptoms of menopause is pain in the lower abdomen. They can appear for various reasons, but do not panic, as this does not always indicate serious illness.
Why does pain occur?
The main cause of pain during menopause is hormonal changes. The lady had been affected by female sex hormones for three or four decades. With the onset of menopause, the amount of hormones fluctuates and then gradually decreases to zero.
Such changes provoke not only a lot of unpleasant sensations, but also pain of different localization. The organs of the reproductive system are undergoing structural changes. They decrease in size. Since they are all located in the lower abdomen, during menopause a woman may experience pain in the lower abdomen and lower back.
First, a decrease and then the disappearance of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone leads to changes in metabolism. The woman’s immunity is weakened and the risk of developing some disease increases significantly. Therefore, a woman needs to be very careful about her health.
In addition, low estrogen levels have an adverse effect on a woman’s emotional state. Why during menopause many representatives of the fair sex want to be in a better mood. Constant feelings of anxiety, increased irritability and tearfulness can lead to depression.
If the psychological disorder is not treated, depression may develop. It is manifested not only by changes in a woman’s behavior and her worldview, but also by various ailments in the physical state of the body. Pain in the lower abdomen masks the manifestation of severe depression.
Phases of menopause
Hormonal changes in women occur in several stages.
- Premenopause.
- Menopause.
- Postmenopause.
Premenopause is the period from the onset of hormonal changes to the last menstruation, its duration is up to 6 years. At this time, the cycle fails, menstruation becomes scanty and irregular. A primary restructuring of the body occurs, and as a result, pain in the joints, muscles, lower back, and lower abdomen may appear. In addition, I often have a headache.
Menopause lasts 1 year from the last menstruation. At this time, disturbances in the functioning of the urinary system are possible. The phenomenon of cystitis is not uncommon. During menopause, women notice an increase in abdominal volume.
Postmenopause lasts from 3 to 15 years and occurs after menopause. This is the time of decline and appearance of signs of aging.
During menopause, the lower abdomen, lower back, head, joints, and heart hurt. Sometimes these pains are caused by various dysfunctions of organs, but often they are psychosomatic in nature. A woman is afraid of old age, changes occurring in her body, loss of working capacity.
What are the causes of lower back pain
Can the lower back and lower abdomen hurt during menopause? Women during age-related changes complain of back pain. An insufficient amount of calcium, as well as a deficiency of estrogen, leads to the fact that bone tissue becomes thin.
During menopause, representatives of the fair sex usually gain excess weight. This leads to an increase in load on the spine and especially its lumbar region.
Most often, a woman feels pain when lifting heavy bags and deep bends. After all, there are a lot of nerve endings near the spinal column.
But we should not exclude the possibility that lumbar pain was caused by completely different reasons. It can be one of the first symptoms of serious diseases: vertebral hernia, osteochondrosis, as well as intestinal, kidney and neuralgia diseases. Therefore, if pain occurs, you should not delay going to the doctor in order to establish an accurate diagnosis.
Which doctor should I make an appointment with? First of all, you should visit a gynecologist and endocrinologist. The examinations they conduct, as well as the results of ultrasound and blood tests, will either establish a diagnosis or refer you to a specific specialist to confirm the suspected disease.
Possible diseases
Why does the lower abdomen and lower back hurt during menopause? Decreased immunity led to the development of serious gynecological diseases.
Let's consider the most common diseases that have such symptoms.
Uterine fibroids
Against the background of increased estrogen levels, uterine fibroids can develop, which is a benign mature tumor arising from the walls of the uterus.
Uterine fibroids can be located in different places.
High levels of the female hormone estrogen are observed at the first stage of menopause - premenopause. At this same phase, hormonal imbalance occurs - the level of hormones either decreases or increases.
Women who experience menopause after age 50 are most at risk.
The disease has the following symptoms:
- aching or paroxysmal pain in the lower abdomen;
- lower back pain;
- menstrual irregularities;
- constipation
Fibroids very rarely degenerate into a malignant tumor. The disease is diagnosed based on the results of a gynecological examination, ultrasound, MRI and other studies prescribed by the doctor in a particular case.
Endometriosis
The disease provokes hormonal imbalance and excess weight. Endometriosis is a very common gynecological disease in which cells from the inner layer of the uterus develop outside the uterus. In this disease, endometrial cells develop in the thickness of the muscular wall of the uterus, in the vagina, fallopian tubes, ovaries, etc.
The most typical symptom of the disease is pain in the lower abdomen during menstruation, which can radiate to the lower back and sacrum. Back pain may appear a few days before your period and continue after it ends. The woman will feel pain in a specific place. It depends on where exactly the endometrial cells are attached.
Expert opinion
Alexandra Yurievna
General practitioner, associate professor, teacher of obstetrics, work experience 11 years.
Typical symptoms include: insomnia, headaches, and constant bad mood.
Also, a woman should pay attention to another symptom - heavy and prolonged menstruation, before and after which spotting is observed. The diagnosis is made by a gynecologist after examination, as well as the results of ultrasound and other studies.
Endometriosis has several variants.
Chronic salpingitis
Salpingitis is an inflammation of the fallopian tubes. Often during menopause the disease becomes more active. An inflamed tube bothers a woman in the lateral part, but sometimes radiates to the lower abdomen or sacrum. An important symptom of the disease is an increase in body temperature. You should know that there may not be any discharge.
What does this disease look like?
When the disease is chronic, the temperature does not always rise.
The lady will be bothered by persistent pain in the lower abdomen, which intensifies during menstruation, after sexual intercourse, as well as hypothermia.
In addition, the woman feels tired due to a chronic illness. The disease is diagnosed by a gynecologist after examination.
Sometimes additional studies and tests are prescribed.
Synechiae of the uterine cavity
Synechiae in the uterus are adhesions that lead to partial or complete closure of the uterus.
The disease has the following symptoms:
- pain in the lower abdomen, which intensifies before menstruation;
- scanty periods, which are caused by impaired outflow of menstrual blood due to adhesions in the lower part of the uterus;
- absence of menstruation.
During menopause, the uterus atrophies. In other words, it decreases in size. This process may be accompanied by the formation of adhesions. At first, the process may be asymptomatic, and then pain will appear.
If severe pain begins, doctors suspect the presence of fluid in the uterus that provokes an inflammatory process. In this case, hospitalization will be required.
Malignant tumors
This serious illness develops in most women asymptomatically and only in the last stages does pain appear, which intensifies over time. Some representatives of the fair half of humanity, when a tumor forms on the ovary, periodically experience nagging pain in the lower abdomen.
Therefore, such a symptom should alert you and become a reason to undergo examination by a gynecologist, as well as undergo appropriate blood tests.
Appendicitis
We should not forget that nagging pain in the lower abdomen is one of the symptoms of inflammation of the small intestine. What to do if you suspect appendicitis?
For this disease, surgery is performed, sometimes urgently. Therefore, the woman needs to be sent to the hospital to establish a final diagnosis.
Attention to abdominal volume
Why does the belly grow during menopause? Firstly, women, due to hormonal imbalance, begin to gain excess weight (sometimes 8-10 kg). Secondly, sudden bloating occurs with the development of ascites - the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity outside of any internal organ.
In addition to lower back pain, is your belly growing?
Doctors also call ascites abdominal dropsy. It is not an independent disease, but accompanies many diseases. Ascites is dangerous because it accompanies only severe pathologies, which often threaten the patient’s life.
Therefore, it is very important to know the symptoms of this disease:
- The patient experiences a feeling of abdominal distension.
- It is accompanied by pain not only in the abdomen, but also in the pelvis.
- Flatulence problems appear - a large amount of gases accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract. Abdominal bloating, swelling, and pain occur.
- Veins appear on the surface of the swollen abdomen.
- Shortness of breath with difficulty breathing.
- There are problems with digestion and urination.
- During menopause, women may experience nausea.
- Heaviness appears in the stomach.
Of course, symptoms begin to appear gradually. A woman should be wary that her appetite is decreasing, and her stomach continues to increase in volume. In addition, bloating occurs when you completely refuse to eat.
In adults, ascites develops as follows: 70% with liver diseases, 10% with tumors, 5% with heart failure, 15% with other diseases, including gynecological ones.
Sometimes, ladies begin to be bothered by rumbling in their stomachs. This syndrome is especially alarming if it comes from the lower abdomen. How to remove this manifestation? Rumbling in the stomach may occur due to a banal desire for refreshment. If the symptom recurs, and not always with severe hunger, then you need to contact a specialist to check your stomach and intestines.
Treatment of bloating during menopause
During menopause, bloating is a fairly common occurrence. It is triggered by a hormonal surge that disrupts the normal functioning of the digestive and excretory organs. This causes a woman a lot of suffering and inconvenience.
In addition to the fact that the stomach is bloated and painful, unpleasant symptoms appear such as:
Causes of bloating:
- gastrointestinal diseases (pancreatitis, gastritis, cholecystitis);
- eating disorders;
- hormone fluctuations;
- fluid retention;
- chronic diseases (diabetes).
Treatment begins with nutritional adjustments:
