A woman’s average menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days, although this may vary and be somewhat shorter or a little longer, reaching a duration of about 21 to 45 days, depending on each person and the functioning of her body, as well as other factors involved in the process. This means that, under normal conditions, women experience the bleeding of menstruation every month.
A large number of the female population experience certain discomforts that accompany the descent of the rule month by month, such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), or more specifically menstrual pains, sometimes quite strong, something of which very little is spoken of and of which there are almost no research, demonstrating, once again, how the female gender continues to be neglected in terms of medicine and studies.
And it is that these pains are not normal, it would be normal to have a rule without pain; the good news is that there are not only common medicines, natural or drugs, that help relieve these pains.
What if we told you that masturbation can be your best ally in that annoying and painful moment?
Yes, and evidenced by the firm of sex toys Womanizer and the Lunette brand, who, after carrying out the first clinical study carried out in the world, conclude that masturbation can effectively help alleviate menstrual pains both in the short and long term.
Dr. Miriam Al Adib, a gynaecologist with Womanizer, explains: During menstruation, substances called prostaglandins are responsible for generating contractions in the uterus so that the endometrium (menstruation) is shed. When there is an excessive production of starlandins of the 2 series increases the menstrual pain because, in addition to intervening in the contractions, these prostaglandins are involved in inflammation and pain.
The study
In May 2020, nearly 20,000 women with menstruation participated in a call, of which only 486 of them were randomly selected, and over 6 months, were recorded their symptoms through a questionnaire. In the fifth month, participants again used traditional methods to relieve pain, while the sixth and final month of the trial served to take the final results through one more questionnaire.
Participants had to record the intensity as the frequency of their pain each month on a 10-point scale. The results obtained showed that both parameters decreased considerably while the test phase passed. And even more remarkable: even after the month of control (5th month), the values remained lower than at the beginning of the test phase.
90% of participants bet on orgasms
When participants were asked if masturbation or medication worked better against menstrual pain, the percentages were quite similar: 43% chose the medication compared to 42% who chose masturbation. The most common responses of the remaining 15% included methods such as heat, CBD oil, sleep, and exercise. 90% of all participants recommended pain relief masturbation, and 85 per cent plan to maintain their (new) masturbation routine, as completed in the study.
Why can masturbation help with menstrual pain?
Dr. Miriam Al Adib explains: Do we know that masturbation can have positive effects on health and general well-being, since with orgasm, a cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters is released that, apart from generating pleasure, behave like authentic natural painkillers: oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine… At the same time, metabolism and blood circulation are stimulated, which also counteract pain. Finally, when the muscles contract and release during orgasm and masturbation, it triggers a relaxing effect.
For his part, Dr. Jones, head of the study, says: Is it very remarkable how quickly participants felt an improvement in their symptoms. After just one month of conscious masturbation, the values decreased significantly. In addition, my assumption that masturbation also has a long-term positive effect on well-being was confirmed. Even after participants returned to their usual methods for pain relief, the intensity and frequency values remained lower than at the beginning of the study. Both parameters would likely have improved even more if they had performed an even longer test phase.