Underrecognition of Dysmenorrhea Is an Iatrogenic Harm

Many patients face years of recurrent and debilitating menstrual pain that affects their ability to work and study. Patients often normalize their severe pain as an expected part of menses. Both underrecognition and lack of awareness of available therapies for this remediable condition serve as a quintessential example of hermeneutic injustice. Hermeneutic injustice describes a structural lack of access to epistemic resources, such as shared concepts and knowledge. Pervasive menstrual stigma further discourages people with dysmenorrhea from discussing their symptoms and seeking health care. A lack of respect for women's experiences of pain in clinical encounters acts to worsen these issues and should be considered a source of iatrogenic harm. Health care workers can promote hermeneutic justice by preemptively destigmatizing discussions about menstruation and validating patients' concerns. On a systemic level, there should be greater awareness of dysmenorrhea and the various treatments availabe for it.