Pelvic Floor Symptom
Pain with Periods
By Dr. Anthony J. Gordon, Doctor of Acupuncture | Last reviewed September 2026
Every month you lose a day or more to cramps. Painkillers may take the edge off. The pain spreads to your low back and thighs, and your pelvic floor feels tight and sore. Painful periods are common, but severe pain deserves treatment. The muscles and nerves around the uterus often add to the pain.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (516) 597-5400. Most new patients are seen within one to two weeks.
Overview
Understanding Pain with Periods
Painful periods, called dysmenorrhea, come in two forms. Primary dysmenorrhea is cramping from normal uterine contractions and inflammatory chemicals called prostaglandins, without underlying disease. Secondary dysmenorrhea is caused by conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis or fibroids, which your gynecologist should evaluate, especially if pain is severe, worsening or not responding to treatment.
In both types, the uterus shares nerve supply with the pelvic floor, abdominal wall and low back. Monthly cramping causes these muscles to guard, and over time the pelvic floor can stay tight between periods, making cramps more intense and adding pain with sex, bowel movements and sitting.
Acupuncture is widely used for period pain, and Dr. Gordon combines it with treatment of pelvic floor and abdominal tension, coordinating with your gynecologist.
Pain with Periods at a Glance
Also called
Dysmenorrhea, menstrual cramps
Two types
Primary, without underlying disease, and secondary, from conditions like endometriosis
Common symptoms
Cramping, low back pain, thigh pain, nausea, pelvic floor tightness
When to see your gynecologist
Severe, worsening or new pain, or pain not helped by medication
What Dr. Gordon addresses
Pelvic floor and abdominal guarding, nerve sensitivity, cramp intensity
The Gap in Care
What Tests Check, and What They Can Miss
Period pain is usually treated with pain medication or hormones. Dr. Gordon assesses the muscle tension that builds around monthly pain.
What routine testing is looking for
- Endometriosis
- Adenomyosis
- Fibroids
- Hormonal patterns
What often keeps symptoms going
- Pelvic floor guarding that intensifies cramps
- Abdominal wall trigger points
- Low back and sacral muscle tension
- Sensitized pelvic nerves
- Tension that persists between periods
These are assessed with hands-on exam and a review of your cycle.
Signs & Symptoms
Does This Sound Like You?
Symptoms vary from person to person. These are the patterns Dr. Gordon sees most often.
Strong cramping
Cramping pain in the lower abdomen before and during your period.
Low back pain
Aching in the low back or sacrum.
Thigh pain
Pain spreading down the thighs.
Nausea or fatigue
Nausea, fatigue or headaches with your period.
Pelvic floor tightness
A clenched or heavy feeling in the pelvis.
Missing work or school
Pain that interferes with daily life.
Root Causes
The Four Drivers Dr. Gordon Looks For
Most people have more than one of these in play. Finding which one leads makes treatment more efficient.
Uterine contractions and inflammation
Prostaglandins drive cramping, which medications can reduce.
Pelvic floor guarding
Monthly pain trains the pelvic floor to tighten, intensifying cramps.
Abdominal and low back muscles
Shared nerve supply leads to trigger points that add pain.
Nerve sensitivity
Repeated pain makes pelvic nerves more reactive.
Your First Visit
How Dr. Gordon Evaluates Pain with Periods
The initial evaluation runs 60 to 75 minutes. You leave with a clear picture of what is driving your symptoms, a written plan, a realistic timeline, and in most cases your first treatment.
Records and history review
Dr. Gordon reviews your gynecologist's findings, imaging, medications and past treatments so he knows what has been ruled out and what has already been tried.
Abdominal and low back assessment
Assessment of the abdominal wall, low back, sacrum and hips.
External pelvic floor assessment
The pelvic floor muscles are examined from the outside, with no internal exam. With you draped for comfort, gentle pressure around the perineum, sit bones, tailbone and inner thighs checks tone, tenderness and trigger points.
Cycle review
Dr. Gordon maps your cycle, symptom timing and what helps.
Plan and coordination
A clear plan, plus communication with your gynecologist or pelvic floor PT when that helps your care.
When to see a physician first
- Fever or chills with pelvic pain
- Unusual discharge, sores or lesions
- Bleeding after menopause, or bleeding heavy enough to soak a pad or tampon every hour
- Sudden, severe pelvic or abdominal pain
- Possible pregnancy with new pelvic pain
- New numbness in the saddle area or loss of bladder or bowel control
If you have any of these, contact your doctor or go to the nearest emergency department.
Bring to your first visit
Records
Recent lab results, imaging reports and specialist notes. These can also be faxed ahead.
Treatment history
A short list of what you have tried and what did or did not help.
Clothing
Something comfortable and loose fitting.
Treatment
How Dr. Gordon Treats It
These are the tools Dr. Gordon uses most often for painful periods, chosen from your exam findings.
Primary approach
Intrapelvic & Extrapelvic Dry Needling
Dr. Gordon holds ASE certification in both intrapelvic and extrapelvic dry needling. Treatment releases pelvic floor, abdominal and low back tension that intensifies cramping. The needles go in through the skin of the buttock, perineum or inner thigh, never through the vagina or rectum.
Learn about pelvic floor treatmentNerve focus
Neuro-Functional Acupuncture
Acupuncture protocols widely used for menstrual pain, including electro-acupuncture along sacral and lumbar pathways.
See servicesBetween visits
Cycle Plan & Team Coordination
Visit timing around your cycle and flare strategies, coordinated with your gynecologist.
Referring provider? Contact the clinicWhat to Expect
A Typical Recovery Arc
Visits 1 to 3
Find the main driver
Dr. Gordon confirms which muscles and nerves are behind your symptoms and starts calming the most reactive areas. Many people notice early changes between visits.
Visits 4 to 8
Lower the baseline
Day-to-day symptoms ease, flares become shorter and less frequent, and normal routines start to feel more manageable.
Visits 9 to 12 and beyond
Build resilience
Visits are spaced out as improvement holds. You leave with a maintenance and early-flare plan.
Most patients are seen weekly or every other week during active care. Individual results vary with how long symptoms have been present and how reactive they are. Progress is reassessed at every visit.
Not sure how to describe it? Put your pain or discomfort into words before your visit
"I was having aura migraines and my neurologist recommended accupuncture. I had never done acupuncture and was very nervous to try it out. ... I have been migraine free since starting accupuncture three weeks ago"
Kaitlin Erikson, Google Review
Pain with Periods Questions
Answers About Pain with Periods
Still unsure whether this is the right fit? Reach out before you book and Dr. Gordon will talk through your history with you.
Some cramping is common, but pain that disrupts your life deserves evaluation and treatment.
It can be. Severe or worsening pain should be evaluated by your gynecologist.
Many patients benefit from visits in the week before their period.
Yes, as directed by your physician.
Many people start with treatment across two to three cycles.
Often, if pelvic floor tension has built up.
Before You Book
General Questions
The clinic is an out-of-network practice. The initial evaluation is $300 and follow-up visits are $250. After each visit you receive a detailed superbill to submit to your PPO plan for possible reimbursement. FSA and HSA cards are accepted, and the clinic can run a complimentary benefits check before your first appointment. The check is a courtesy, so please confirm your coverage with your plan. See Insurance & Fees for details.
The first evaluation is 60 to 75 minutes and usually includes treatment. Follow-up visits run 45 to 60 minutes.
Yes. Call (516) 597-5400 or send a message through the contact page. This is especially helpful if your case is complex and you want to understand the approach before committing to a full evaluation.
1508 Union Turnpike, Suite 133, North New Hyde Park, NY 11040, with free parking on site. The clinic is an easy drive from Manhasset, Great Neck, Garden City, Lake Success, Floral Park and Mineola. Early morning, evening and weekend hours are available.
Most people feel a quick muscle twitch or a deep ache that lasts a few seconds. That twitch is a normal sign the trigger point is releasing. Mild soreness for 24 to 48 hours afterward, similar to a hard workout, is common. Depth, angle and stimulation are adjusted to your comfort.
Both use the same fine, sterile, single-use needles. Dry needling targets specific trigger points and tight bands in muscle based on your exam. Neuro-functional acupuncture targets nerve pathways, often with gentle electrical stimulation, to calm nerve sensitivity. For painful periods, Dr. Gordon commonly uses both.
When performed by a trained, licensed provider with detailed knowledge of anatomy, it has a strong safety record. Tell Dr. Gordon if you take blood thinners, have a bleeding disorder, are pregnant or have a weakened immune system so he can plan accordingly.
It is a technique that reaches the internal pelvic floor muscles, including the levator ani, obturator internus and coccygeus, to release trigger points and restore normal muscle function. Dr. Gordon holds ASE certification in this technique, which few practitioners in New York have.
Yes. Your privacy and comfort come first. When undressing is needed for the area being treated, you are fully draped, and nothing internal is done without your clear consent. You can pause or stop at any time.
Yes. Many of Dr. Gordon's pelvic floor patients come to him after difficult experiences elsewhere. Every step is explained before it happens, you set the pace, and Dr. Gordon treats adults of all genders and identities in a respectful, welcoming setting.
It helps to have had a medical workup so serious causes have been checked. If you have not seen a gynecologist for these symptoms yet, call the clinic to talk through the best order of steps.
About Dr. Anthony J. Gordon
Dr. Anthony J. Gordon is a Doctor of Acupuncture licensed in New York and board certified. He holds ASE certification in intrapelvic and extrapelvic dry needling, along with advanced certifications in Functional Dry Needling and Neuro-Functional Acupuncture. With more than 18 years of clinical experience and over 3,000 complex cases treated, he focuses on pelvic, spinal and orthopedic conditions that have not responded to standard care, and works closely with each patient's physicians and physical therapists.
Read Dr. Gordon's full bioBook an Evaluation for Pain with Periods
Book an evaluation with Dr. Gordon and address the muscle and nerve side of painful periods.
Early morning, evening and weekend appointments available. Free on-site parking.
Further Reading
Adenomyosis: Pain, Pressure and What Helps Alongside Medical Care
From the blog: Adenomyosis grows into the wall of the uterus and can cause heavy, painful periods. How it differs from endometriosis, and the muscle side of the pain.
Painful Periods: When Cramps Are More Than Cramps
From the blog: Most period cramps are common, but pain that worsens over the years or shows up at other times needs a closer look. Primary versus secondary, and what helps.
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