It can be defined as pain which is in relation to menses that is troublesome so as to disable a woman from performing her routine chores.

Dysmenorrhea can be classified into primary dysmenorrhea where no underlying pathology can be demonstrated and secondary dysmenorrhea which has a definitive underlying causative pathology.

On the basis of the character, dysmenorrhea can also be classified into spasmodic and membranous type.

As the names suggest, the spasmodic type of dysmenorrhea involves severe pain which waxes and wanes in intensity with the contraction and relaxation of the uterus while the membranous variety has actual shedding of chunks of meaty portions of the innermost wall of the uterus called the endometrium. Very often dysmenorrhea is accompanied by a whole lot of symptoms such as giddiness, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, fever, etc.

Homeopathy has a promising role to play in cases of dysmenorrhea.