Women face some specific challenges to their health, wellness, and comfort. If you have struggled with hormonal imbalances, changes in your menstrual processes, reproductive system discomfort, or fertility issues, you should know that the Chinese medicine discipline known as acupuncture may help you.
The positioning of thin, fine needles at various acupuncture points on the body can re-balance physical and mental function, with different combinations of acupuncture points conveying different benefits. Take a look at some women’s health issues that may respond well to this ancient yet effective form of natural treatment.
Acupuncture for PMS Discomfort
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) can prove downright debilitating during the days that precede your monthly period. Sufferers from this hormonal roller coaster experience headaches, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, depression, bloat from water weight gain, acne breakouts, and digestive complaints.
Western PMS treatment options such as anti-inflammatory drugs and birth control pills may reduce your symptoms temporarily, but they can’t address the underlying imbalances that make you vulnerable to PMS in the first place. Acupuncture can treat PMS at a deeper level without forcing you to rely on medication.
According to the principles of Chinese medicine, PMS issues may respond to manipulation of the acupuncture points that govern your liver qi (or life energy flow through your liver). Water retention may also call for acupuncture treatment to boost the energy flow through your kidneys, thus improving their ability to eliminate water.
Acupuncture for Uterine Fibroids
Uterine fibroids may not pose the imminent danger of a disease such as uterine cancer, but they can make you extremely uncomfortable nonetheless. These benign growths on the uterus can cause pelvic pressure, difficult urination, heavy menstrual bleeding, back pain, leg pain, and constipation.
If you’ve had little relief from medications to treat your uterine fibroids and want to avoid eliminating the problem through a hysterectomy, consider acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture can improve blood flow to the uterus, correct hormonal imbalances that trigger fibroid growth, and ease inflammatory pain.
Acupuncture practitioners combine acupuncture and herbal medicine to combat uterine fibroids. Research shows that this combination can reduce uterine fibroids with 94.1% success, compared to just 82% effectiveness in study participants who received a combination of herbal medicine and synthetic steroid drugs.
Acupuncture for Menopause Symptoms
Menopause may provide a natural solution to PMS issues, but at the cost of a new set of uncomfortable problems. Hot flashes, night sweats, lower back pain, fatigue, insomnia, and vaginal dryness can conspire to make this life transition miserable.
Thankfully, acupuncture has demonstrated the ability to relieve menopause symptoms. Research indicates that just five weeks of acupuncture therapy can improve sleep quality, smooth out mood swings, and reduce both hot flashes and night sweats in menopausal study participants.
One key aspect of acupuncture treatment for menopause involves the energy balance in the kidneys. Chinese Medicine holds that these organs play a role in reproductive health and wellness. For this reason, your acupuncturist may focus on needling techniques that restore and support optimal kidney function.
Acupuncture for Female Infertility
Women can struggle with infertility for a variety of reasons, many of them hormonal in nature. For instance, stress can upset the precise balance among reproductive hormones that makes conception possible. Even without the negative influence of stress, abnormal progesterone or prolactin levels can interfere with ovulation.
Acupuncture can bring these hormones back into balance by altering the performance of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that manages your endocrine system. Specifically, it can reduce the production of the stress hormone cortisol and help your thyroid gland function more normally, smoothing out your hormone levels.
If you seek safe, natural solutions to common women’s health issues, contact Acupuncture & Holistic Health Associates for an appointment. Our Chinese medicine practitioners can evaluate your condition and administer the right kind of treatment to help you enjoy a higher quality of life.
