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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