How
Acupuncture Can Help Treat Fibroids
Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that sickness results from a blockage in the
flow of energy among the channels of the body. Disease is thought to occur
when there is a blockage or too much or too little of something in these
channels. The aim of acupuncture is to identify where in the body there is
stagnation or blockages amongst the blood and energy flow and to disperse it.
TCM
and Fibroids
Uterine fibroids are very common and can be found in approximately 20% of women over
the age of 35. The symptoms associated with fibroids include menstrual pain,
heavy menstrual bleeding and infertility. The infertility occurs if fibroids
obstruct the uterine cavity or the entrance to the fallopian tubes.
Chinese
medicine believes that menstrual cycles in a healthy woman, should be regular
and pain free. Eastern medicine claims that fibroids result from blood that is
not flowing freely through the channels of the body. This results in a darker
more clotted menstrual flow and a negative impact generally on the body's immune system.
Acupuncture
Treatments
All
acupuncture treatments are individualized to the patient. The diagnostic
approach is a very important one and the practitioner takes a full medical
and lifestyle history. Checking wrist pulses and the tongue are part of the
diagnostic tools that are used. Many women turn to acupuncture when diagnosed with fibroids; however, each patient is given a treatment plan that is suitable for their
individual needs.
Acupuncture
needles are very thin needles that are inserted about 4-6mm in to the body. The
needles should not be painful or sharp. Once they are inserted, the needles
often cause a tingling or pulsing sensations. This is because they have been
placed in the body where TCM believes that there are specific energy points.
Results
of Acupuncture
It
is recommended that patients undertake weekly treatments of acupuncture for a
minimum of a few cycles. The practitioner will want to monitor the change in symptoms as treatment
progresses.
In
addition to acupuncture treatment, medicinal herbs are often prescribed to help
alleviate blood and energy stagnation. Chinese medicine has claimed great
success in the treatment of fibroids. There is evidence of fibroids either
reducing in size or disappearing altogether alongside an improvement in some of
the menstrual symptoms.
Acupuncture
has a very individualized effect. It's important to remember that it does not
work for everyone in the same way and it does not work all the time. However
for those people who are open to treatment options beyond western medicine, it
is worth considering.
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