Acupuncture and Endometriosis

Endometriosis has been in the news more and more lately, since celebrities including Lena Dunham, Julianne Hough and Padma Lakshmi are speaking out as both patients and advocates of the awareness of the disease.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), “Endometriosis is a problem affecting a woman's uterus—the place where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. Endometriosis is when the kind of tissue that normally lines the uterus grows somewhere else. It can grow on the ovaries, behind the uterus, on the bowels, or on the bladder. Rarely, it grows in other parts of the body.”

The painful and potentially debilitating disease can cause, “pain, infertility, and very heavy periods. The pain is usually in the abdomen, lower back, or pelvic areas. Some women have no symptoms at all, and having trouble getting pregnant may be the first sign they have endometriosis.”

Thankfully, acupuncture might be able to help!

Helpful for both chronic pain and other conditions, a recent article from Health CMI entitled “Acupuncture Beats Drug for Endometriosis Relief” explains that researchers have found that acupuncture is more effective than hormone drug  replacement therapy in treating endometriosis and its symptoms.

In the study, “Researchers at Tongji University hospital compared acupuncture with standard drug therapy. Patients receiving acupuncture achieved a 92.0% total effective rate. Patients receiving mifepristone achieved a 52.0% total effective rate.” Essentially acupuncture worked better at reducing pain levels as reported by the patients. 

The study outlined the following acupoints as being the locations of interest: CV6 (Quihai), CV4 (Guanyuan), CV3 (Zhongji), Zigong (Extra), SP10 (Xuehai), SP6 (Sanyinjiao), LV2 (Xingjian) and LV3 (taichong.)

If you are currently being treated for endometriosis, acupuncture is certainly work considering in regard to a pain management plan. It can help to reduce the intensity of pain and cramps, as well as promoting a better sense of overall wellbeing.

Why IVF Patients Turn to the Practice to Improve Their Chances & Experience

Women struggling with infertility and their loved ones know first-hand how stressful, painful, overwhelming and expensive the process can be. From daily injections and monitoring, endless blood draws and ultrasounds the in-vitro fertilization process is demanding, with of course, the end result hopefully being very much worth the work.

Those seeking to get a handle on stress stemming from the process, or to possibly improve the chances of a positive outcome are seeking acupuncture treatment more and more.

Stress can significantly impact the IVF cycle, and acupuncture can help to reduce it.

A recent Parents.com article cited Alice Domar, Ph.D., executive director of the Domar Center for Mind/Body Health as saying, “We know the number-one reason insured people drop out of IVF treatment is stress, so anything you can do to reduce stress might keep you in treatment longer and help you get pregnant.”

In an article entitled, Does Acupuncture for Infertility Work? Dr. Lara Rosenthal, a licensed acupuncturist who works with patients New York University Langone Medical Center Fertility Center in New York City is quoted as saying, “"Doing acupuncture before trying drugs or IVF might help you avoid those treatments altogether,” while having acupuncture treatment during an IVF cycle may help combat the unpleasant side effects stemming from the added hormones and mediations in your system.

Even Hollywood moms have publicly turned to acupuncture during their battles with infertility. Celine Dion’s reps have confirmed that she sought treatment during her sixth IVF experience which led to her pregnancy with twins Nelson and Eddy.

After suffering a miscarriage, Mariah Carey told Access Hollywood “Celine was talking about acupuncture. I used to get acupuncture, and I had never thought [of it] with regards to the trying to conceive situation,” and seems to believe it helped to make her pregnancy with twins via IVF, a dream come true.

Currently, many fertility doctors are now recommending acupuncture to their patients who are trying to conceive. From helping to balance hormone levels, releasing congested qi and helping patients to achieve relax, there are many benefits to giving it a try.

If you are actively trying to conceive or are undergoing infertility treatments, we are happy to try to help you achieve your parenting dreams and to lessen the stress of the process through skilled acupuncture treatment.