Many women have pain with their periods, especially when they are in their teens. In most cases, menstrual pain does not mean a more serious problem, although sometimes it can be associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids, noncancerous tumors in the uterus.
The medical term for menstrual pain is primary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea usually starts shortly after the first period, as a woman begins to ovulate regularly. Pain usually starts a day or two before menstrual flow, and may continue through the first 2 days of the period. Often, pain gets better as a woman gets older, or after she has a child. Dysmenorrhea is twice as common among women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) compared to those who don't have IBS.
Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by underlying conditions, such as endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID).