Named for exactly what it does. The bark of a viburnum shrub, dried and decocted, is one of the oldest American remedies for menstrual cramps and the muscular spasm of a tense, painful period.
A monthly remedy a woman can keep in the cabinet and reach for instead of reaching, again, for ibuprofen on an empty stomach. It hands back a small measure of control over a pain the medical system minimizes.
Cramp bark is a specific uterine and skeletal-muscle antispasmodic. Its coumarin scopoletin and other constituents relax smooth muscle, which is why it has been used for centuries to relieve dysmenorrhea (painful periods) and to quiet uterine spasm. Salicoside content gives a mild aspirin-like anti-inflammatory action against the prostaglandins that drive cramp pain. It also eases general muscular tension and the low-back ache that travels with hard periods. For Black women — who experience dysmenorrhea and fibroid-related cramping at high rates and are too often told to just bear it — cramp bark is a direct, time-tested ease that doesn't sedate like the leaf herbs do.
Dried bark decocted (simmered 15 minutes) — 1-2 tsp per cup, drunk warm at the onset of and during cramps. Tincture 2-5mL every few hours during acute cramping. Often paired with black haw and wild yam.
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