What Can Acupuncture Treat? Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a condition that affects millions of women. It is is the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, which causes pain during the menstrual cycle. This occurs becuase the endometrial tissue is supposed to shed every month, and if it isn’t in the uterus, the tissue essentially “stagnates,” and causes pain. Endometriosis is usually diagnosed between the ages of 30 and 40, but can begin as a young as the teenage years. Forty percent of women are symptom-free and don’t even realize they have it. The other sixty percent are well aware of the symptoms, which include mild to severe pain in the lower abdomen during the menstrual cycle, heavy bleeding, and even infertility.

Western medicine does not have a cure for endometriosis, but offers prescription drugs and laparoscopic surgery as an option to stop the pain. While it may stop the pain, this method doesn’t address the inflammation that is occurs throughout the body with each cycle.

Acupuncture points and Chinese herbal medicine help soothe the pain, reduce inflammation, and help reduce the heavy monthly bleeding. The diagnosis of endometriosis is Blood Stagnation (which is exactly what is sounds like), but there is often either excess Heat or Cold in the body. The practitioner will use acupoints to treat all of these symptoms.

Herbal formulas will be prescribed at specific times in the woman’s menstrual cycle. One formula can be taken just after the menstrual cycle begins, and another after ovulation (or mid-cycle).

Randine Lewis‘s book, The Infertility Cure, is one of the best resources I have found for information about acupuncture, Western and Chinese herbs, and endometriosis. Read her book for more extenstive information on endometriosis.

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4 comments

Lorne Brown

June 16, 2009 at 8:38 am //

I was one of Randine’s first students and her book was a great inspiration to me. In the last 6 plus years since her book a came out she has gained even more experience and does a great job of conveying it to practitioners in her Clinical Excellence in Fertility Program (CEFP. Lots of tips on treating endometriosis. Usually there is an underlying Kidney yang and/or long term liver Qi stagnation that is leading to the blood stasis. Lorna Vanderhaeghe wrote a great book called Sexy Hormones which goes into great detail about the cause and natural treatmnets for endometriosis. She actually discusses how chronic stress and long term elevated cortisol leads to excess estrogen and under functioning of the thyroid. I think acupuncture and Chinese medicine are able to alleviate many of the symptoms of endometriosis through is calming and stress reduction (lower cortisol) and anti inflammatory effects. A good tip is to eat an anti inflammatory diet and limit foods that have too much of the “bad” estrogens.

I wrote an article about the similarities and differenecs between the western and TCM approach. I hope it is helpful.

http://www.acubalance.ca/endometriosis-and-fertility-integrated-approach