If you are feeling pain in your butt that also goes to the lower abdomen during your period, you might think that it was just another painful manifestation of menstruations. For some women, that time of month is literally the pain in the butt; Kelly Kasper, M.D., OB/Gyn at Indiana University Health tells self.
Most commonly, the culprit of butt pain during period days is muscle tension. It only last for about 20 seconds then it comes and goes. The pain in the butt feels like pressure and sometimes hurts to standing from sitting.
There are several explanations as regards this matter.
Cramps, uterine swelling, and bloating can put pressure on your gluteal muscles; the ones that make up the buttocks. When enough tension builds, the muscles might spasm. It can cause pain in the lower back, pelvis, and butt. This could also make you feel like you have to pee, Elizabeth Kavaler, M.D., clinical assistant professor of urology at Weil Cornell Medical College and director of urogynecology at Lenox Hill Hospital, tells SELF.
Butt pain during period days is especially common if your uterus tilts toward your back, says Christine Herde, M.D., assistant director of ob/gyn, Mount Sinai Health System at CareMount Medical. Neighboring body parts’ nerves are interconnected, so pain that stems from one place might be felt in another. Most women’s uteruses tilt toward the front, so they feel uterus cramping in their abdomens. However, if yours tilts in the reverse direction, you might feel cramps in the back or butt.
Mild butt soreness during your period is probably nothing to worry about, but if it’s severe, it of another condition.
Kavaler recommends relaxing the muscles through exercise, a bath, a massage, or whatever you normally do for period pains. If necessary, take a painkiller.
- The next explanation would be endometriosis or endo. This is where uterine lining tissue is found growing on the bowel, bladder, rectum, ovaries, etc. The pain of endo reaches its peak during times of menstrual flow. Thus pain in the rectum might be from endo growing into the colon. This is a more difficult diagnosis to confirm. Sometimes, some people use hormonoal medications to try and see if the pain will improve and to suppress endo growth.
- Another possible issue underlying butt muscle pain is enlargement of the uterus due to fibroids, noncancerous growths in the uterus that can develop during a woman’s childbearing years. Fibroids could cause the uterus to push against the back or butt. Unusually heavy bleeding could also point toward fibroids. In some cases, the pain is in the rectum or anus rather than the muscles.
- This could be due to constipation, says Kasper. This common menstrual issue might be curbed by eating fiber-rich foods and drinking plenty of water. You can also use stool softeners if necessary.
Anal pain could also potentially point toward endometriosis, says ob/gyn Aimee D. Eyvazzadeh, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist and fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Endometriotic lesions sometimes sit on the pudendal nerve, which has endings all over the pelvis.
When irritated, this nerve can send shooting pain to the skin around the anus that intensifies during your period.
- If it’s located in the rectum, pelvic colon, or other parts of the gastrointestinal tract, endometriosis can also sometimes cause pain in the bowels, says Michelle Cohen, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai, Brooklyn Heights. Bowel endometriosis can come with other symptoms like painful pooping, rectal bleeding, constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. It can mimic diseases like irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, so a gastroenterologist and gynecologist often have to work together to figure out the true cause.
Endometriosis often goes undiagnosed because people assume that the pain is normal. However, postponing treatment can lead to other issues like fallopian tube scarring and diminished egg quality, says Eyvazzadeh. Therefore, it’s important to take symptoms seriously. Other signs of endometriosis include heavy or irregular periods and pain during s*x.
If your butt pain worsens during your period but is present all month long, it could actually be a sign of irritable bowel syndrome or hemorrhoids, says Kasper. In addition, there are a variety of other issues butt pain could point toward if it’s random instead of cyclical. Greves recommends keeping a diary of the pain; why? To see if it’s the period that causes it.
In short, butt pain is usually just mediocre period pain, though it doesn’t sound fun at all. Honestly, it’s annoying and the pain is just ridiculous. Moreover, if it doesn’t get better with painkillers like ibuprofen or gets so bad, see your doctor. Unbearable discomfort around your period shouldn’t be taken for granted, no matter where the pain is.
