Pelvic floor therapist reveals her ‘go-to’ stretching exercises for alleviating period cramps

A pelvic floor therapist has revealed the simple stretching exercises she recommends for alleviating period cramps, and fans who have tried them insist they really work. 

Dr. Alicia Jeffrey-Thomas, a Massachusetts-based doctor of physical therapy, demonstrated the yoga moves in a video shared on her popular @scrambledjam TikTok account. 

‘Some of my go-to’s,’ the 30-year-old captioned the clip, which has be been viewed more than 4.1 million times since it was posted earlier this month. 

Jeffrey-Thomas, who started with the child’s pose, recommended doing each of the exercises for a minute or longer while focusing on the breath

Jeffrey-Thomas started with the child’s pose, showing how she sits on her knees and leans forward, stretching her arms in front of her.   

The physical therapist then brought her left leg forward as if she were about to step into a lunge and dropped her knee to the floor into the pigeon pose. Her left leg remained extended behind her as she stretched. 

Next up was the cat-cow pose combined with spinal circles. She was kneeling on all-fours as she inhaled and curved her lower back and brought her head up like a ‘cow.’ She then arched her spine and lowered her head down like a ‘cat.’ 

While alternating between those two positions, she made circles with her back. 

For her final pose, she just rested with her legs on the wall in front of her while lying on her back with her hands on her stomach. 

Jeffrey-Thomas recommended doing each of the exercises for a minute or longer while focusing on the breath.   

She explained that you should inhale for five seconds, ‘letting the lower abdomen inflate like you swallowed a beach ball,’ and then exhale for five to seven seconds.  

The physical therapist then brought her left leg forward as if she were about to step into a lunge and dropped her knee to the floor into the pigeon pose

Next, she was on all fours doing the cat-cow pose combined with spinal circles

For her final pose, she just rested with her legs on the wall in front of her while lying on her back with her hands on her stomach

More than 11,000 TikTok users have commented on the video, and a number of women shared what poses work best for them. 

‘Child’s pose hits SO DIFFERENT during a bad cramp,’ one woman wrote, while another added: ‘I’ve actually fallen asleep in child’s pose during bad night cramps.’

‘The child pose and pigeon are the best for me,’ someone else shared. 

Others were surprised that they already ‘instinctively’ knew to do these stretches when they were suffering from menstrual pain. 

The video seemed to be incredible timing for a number of viewers who had just started their periods and were looking for relief. 

‘Perfect timing I just started my period and I’m in pain,’ one TikToker shared. 

The video has been viewed more than 4.1 million times, and many fans took to the comments to share what poses work best for them 

Jeffrey-Thomas also went viral last summer after she warned against peeing in the shower, saying it could possibly lead to ‘leak issues’ in the future  

‘I literally just started my period 10 mins ago,’ another added. 

‘But how did the algorithm know?’ someone else joked. 

Jeffrey-Thomas made headlines last summer when she warned against peeing in the shower, saying it could possibly lead to ‘leak issues’ in the future. 

‘If you pee in the shower or turn on the faucet or turn on the shower and then sit on the toilet to pee while the water’s running, you’re creating an association in your brain between the sound of running water and having to pee,’ she told viewers.  

‘We combo that ‘with pelvic floor dysfunction — either now or down the line — then that’s going to potentially lead to some leak issues when you hear running water outside of the shower.’

She added that people who were born with female anatomy ‘were not designed to pee standing up,’ explaining the bladder won’t empty as it should because the pelvic floor isn’t relaxed properly.