Canadian period pain relief company Somedays is giving nonmenstruators a new perspective on how excruciating period pain can be.
Lux Perry, CEO and co-founder of Somedays, brought a menstrual pain simulator to this year’s Calgary Stampede to show men and nonmenstruators the levels of menstrual pain people experience. To their surprise, those attending the stampede were ready and open to receiving a new perspective.
“It was kind of shocking to see how much compassion there was,” Perry said Tuesday in an interview with CTV’s Your Morning.
The simulator contracts muscles to mimic abdominal cramping, similar to what many people experience during menstruation, as they go about their daily activities. Perry says that while period pains are felt around the world, they are often minimized or ignored, despite their debilitating impact.
“The average person with their period misses nine days of work a year, and up to 80 percent of menstruating people say that even if they are at work, they can’t be as productive or engaged,” Perry said, explaining that stigma forces some to they lie about why they are missing work, for example.
People with endometriosis are also often forgotten, Perry says, because many who are diagnosed with this disease, which affects the uterus, can experience chronic pain that is often mistaken for menstrual pain. According to the Canadian Endometriosis Network, 1 in 10 women and girls, as well as an untold number of transgender, non-binary and gender diverse individuals, will be diagnosed with endometriosis in their lifetime.
“Endometriosis is one of the most painful diseases in the world and is regularly confused with menstrual pain; so what that tells us is that a lot of people experience severe menstrual pain,” Perry said.
In the menstrual pain simulator, a level of 10 and above approximates the typical level of endometriosis pain, while a level of 5 simulates average menstrual pain.
While many laughed at seeing men briefly experience what can be chronic menstrual pain, Perry says the hope is that the experience will make people more empathetic to the many different aspects of women’s health care.
“By starting the conversation with something that makes people giggle and is interactive, it can build a bit of real empathy because they feel what you feel, it’s easier to have those conversations and open up a dialogue,” they said .
Add Comment