Savoy, by some views, was a bit behind when it came to having her first menstrual cycle. She did not begin until she was in the 7th grade. From the start her monthly menstrual cycle was a cause for concern. She would miss school on a scheduled basis every month during her period because the pain was so bad. "I needed help for menstrual cramps," says Savoy [not her real name], now a 21-year-old Senior in college, in Northern California. "I would take the maximum dose of an over-the-counter medication then muscle through it. When I turned 16, I was still having so many issues my parents talked over the situation with my doctor and I was put on high-dose birth control pills. That provided relief a lot." (Since birth control pills keep up more reliable hormone levels, they can provide help for menstrual cramps.)

However, when Savoy entered her Junior year of high school she discovered something that had even better results in giving help for menstrual cramps: exercise. "I joined the high school cheerleading squad, then the soccer team, and I discovered that the pain was subsiding more and more," she says. "I was able to go off the birth control pills for the rest of high school."

Dysmenorrhea -- which translated means menstrual pain -- affects scores of women. There are studies that show as many as 90% of younger women experience great pain during their periods, and it has become the number one reason for women missing school and work for this age group.

Physical workouts provide help for cramps because they let go beta-endorphins, which are internal opioids -- your exclusive "human morphine," according to leading obstetrician-gynecologists. Workouts create analgesia [pain relief] and help in burning the prostaglandins -- chemicals released during menstruation that create muscle contractions -- far quicker.

The primary kind of physical exercise for relief for menstrual cramps, leading professionals agree, happens to be heart taxing workouts -- a workout that accelerates your heart rate upward, like fast walking, bike riding, water sports like swimming or water polo, or, in winter when you can't be outside, even ice-skating at a local ice rink. The key, one clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York quoted, "is that you undertake to commit 30 minutes, 3 periods weekly, to intensive heart pounding exercise."

Savoy found a short time ago that her intense cramps has returned, since laying off her regular exercise regime because of a big schedule at college. Her physician desires to eliminate the chance it may be other problems, but she and Savoy are in agreement that her lack of rigorous exercise has to cease and her successful routine put back in place.

"The area around my college campus has a lot of hills with ups and downs, and I enjoy going on extended hikes with my Siberian husky puppy, Volk, so my goal is carving out that time again for exercise I know is help for menstrual cramps," says Savoy.

Exercise to help with Menstrual Cramps

The goal: You must get sweaty by walking, running or whatever you choose, at a rapid rate. At best you should be capable of having a discussion with a person who is accompanying you, but not so easily it does not require some effort. Do you need some encouragement? Consider doing what Savoy does: Run the hills, or have your high energy dog accompany you.

The Reward: Real relief for menstrual cramps appears to come from rigorous physical activity, the kind that ramps your heart rate up and has you puffing like a steam engine. As this occurs your own near perfect organism known as the human body; let's go of those endorphins that battle the menstrual cramp producing chemicals that is a component of your menstrual cycle.

Now go get a dog and run like the wind!