Twisted Ovaries: 8 Red Flag Symptoms Women Should Never, Ever Ignore

Your ovaries are the two small sacs on either side of your uterus that produce your eggs.

Twisted ovary, also known as ovarian or adnexal torsion, is when one of your ovaries flops out of place and twists around.

Your ovary is held in place by ligament and muscle, so if your ovary twists, all of the ligaments (and sometimes the fallopian tube) will be twisted as well, which causes intense pain.

One of the early warning signs of ovarian torsion is a crampy pain that comes with spotting.

When your ovary starts to flag on one side or the other, you might feel cramping in your uterus, and on one side of your abdomen.

Your body may also begin to shed some of its uterine lining, which can cause spotting, even if your period isn't due.

It's likely, before an ovarian torsion, you'll also experience bloating and tenderness in your lower abdomen, which might also be focused on just one side.

The cramping and tenderness in your belly may come and go, which could indicate that your ovary is swinging slightly back and forth on the ligaments that support it, without fully twisting around.

If your ovary fully twists on the ligaments, you will feel a sudden, sharp pain on one side.

This is partially because the ovary is tugging on the ligaments, and partially because the torsion has cut off the blood flow to and from the organ.

Ovarian torsion is more common on the right side of your body, so it can be mistaken for appendicitis at first.

Either way, go straight to the ER, because this kind of pain indicates a medical emergency.

Along with intense stomach pain, a full-on ovarian torsion may cause a lot of nausea and vomiting.

This is a natural bodily response to pain and to abdominal discomfort.

However, it's easy to mistake a bout of vomiting and stomach pain for an ordinary bug, so watch out for menstrual symptoms that coincide, since that's often the hallmark of a torsion.

Cysts are the number one cause of twisted ovary, and they're pretty common.

An ovarian cyst is a solid, fluid-filled sac that develops on the outside of the ovary, often in response to hormonal fluctuations.

Usually, they're harmless, but they can be very painful, and can become dangerous if they rupture or weigh your ovary down enough that it twists.

There are lots of different fertility treatments out there, but many of the common treatments focus on stimulating the ovarian follicle with hormones to produce an egg.

Fertility treatments encourage ovulation by making the ovaries swell and grow bigger, which makes them heavier.

Heavier ovaries are at a higher risk for twisting, so some doctors will recommend low-impact exercise to help avoid torsion during fertility treatments.

In some rare cases, ovarian torsion might be your first indication that a tumor is growing on your ovary.

Much like a cyst, tumors can start developing on the ovaries and weigh them down, leading to a twist.

Ovarian tumors can be benign or cancerous, but in many cases, the whole ovary will need to be removed to perform a biopsy to check for cancer.

Some people are simply more prone to twisted ovaries; it's just luck of the draw.

If you happen to have longer fallopian tubes, or particularly heavy ovaries, you are also more likely to suffer a torsion at some point.

On the rare occasions an ovarian torsion happens in a child or elderly person, it's usually due to physiology.

If you were surprised by the story behind twisted ovaries, SHARE this list with every woman you know.