How bad are your period cramps? Have you taken everything, but nothing seems to work? Then, maybe you should try Chinese Herbs.

That's right, herbs. A recent study reported that herbs could be more effective in eliminating and reducing menstrual cramps. Over 3,500 women in different countries participated in the study. I know this may sound a bit extreme, but if you're like me and suffer from exhausting and crippling cramps, you'll willing to try anything.

The article also states that 50 percent of women and 60-85 percent of teenage girls miss work or school because of pain.

Ouch!

"All available measures of effectiveness confirmed the overall superiority of Chinese herbal medicine to placebo, no treatment, NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), OCPs (oral contraceptive pill), acupuncture and heat compression," said lead author Xiaoshu Zhu from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at the University of Western Sydney.

While the cause is still under debate, it is believed to be linked to an imbalance in ovarian hormones.

Chinese herbal medicine has been used to treat the condition for hundreds of years and women are increasingly looking for non-drug treatments.

The survey involved 39 trials - 36 in China, and one each in Taiwan, Japan and the Netherlands.

Participants given herbal concoctions were prescribed herbs that regulated their 'qi' (energy) and blood, warmed their bodies and boosted their kidney and liver functions.

Some of these include Chinese angelica root (danggui), Szechuan lovage root (chuanxiong), red peony root (chishao), white peony root (baishao), Chinese motherwort (yimucao), fennel fruit (huixiang), nut-grass rhizome (xiangfu), liquorice root (gancao) and cinnamon bark (rougui).

In one trial involving 36 women, 53 percent of those who took herbs reported less pain than usual compared with 26 percent in the placebo group.