If you're one of the millions of women who experience painful menstrual cramps every month, then you're probably looking for some sort of pain relief. For some women, the monthly flow is not just a time of annoyance or a passing inconvenience, but is a time of severe pain that they dread from month to month.

Here are a few tips that can help you deal with painful menstrual cramps:

1.    Drink lots of water and maintain a healthy diet. Pay attention to what you eat and see if there are specific foods that increase cramp severity or reduce the pain. While certain tips, like avoiding chocolate during your period, are mostly myths, these bits of folk advice ring true for many women with cramps.

2.    Use a hot water bottle or heating pad on your lower abdomen. Menstrual cramps are caused by the contracting of your uterus, so what you really need is relax the uterus. Since cramps are similar to muscle pain in this way, applying heat, like with sore muscles, will help relax the uterus and ease up the menstrual cramps.

3.    Lay on your stomach. Applying pressure to your uterus may relieve some of the pain and laying on your belly is the best way to do that.

4.    Take a painkiller. Certain painkillers, like Celebrex for example, are specially designed to relieve muscle pain and inflammation, including menstrual cramps. Millions of women find relief in Celebrex, especially when nothing else seems to work for them. You can buy generic Celebrex online as an affordable and efficient option.

5.    Exercise. Exercise is often considered a cure-all for many conditions, including painful menstrual cramps. Moving around and being active will not only take your mind off of cramps, but will also serve as pain relief by sending healing endorphins to the brain and by stretching the uterus during movements.

If none of these solutions work for you, consider making an appointment to see your doctor. You could have a more serious medical condition that needs further attention.