Women's Health

Acupuncture has a long history of treating gynaecological problems, such as menstrual pain, heaviness and irregularities. 80% of women will experience menstrual pain at some stage in their lives. A well-functioning reproductive system, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, should pass without too much pain, or a particularly heavy flow, or other symptoms.  It is quite natural to experience some mild discomfort during menstruation but pain that is persistent, or requires relief from pain medication, can be a mirror telling us that something needs addressing. Period pain can be associated with a variety of factors, such as a dis-regulated nervous system, genetics may contribute to some types of menstrual pain, nutrition, or underlying emotional stress and/or anxiety.

Chinese Medicine offers an approach to healthcare that has a more holistic view of well-being. If you are having symptoms, irregularities or heavy bleeding, your body is giving you a vital sign, or communicating to you, that something is out of balance. In many cases, it doesn’t need to be that way. As a holistic medicine, the interconnectedness of symptoms, and internal systems, is anchored into its awareness and understanding. An acupuncturist is trained to look at the reproductive system within the context of a much larger relational whole; one that is in constant contact with other systems of the body, such as the nervous, endocrine, immune and stress-response system, and micro-gut biome. It is important to understand that this wider physical and emotional terrain can have a significant affect on the cycling of our reproductive hormones, etc. By directing attention towards the menstrual system, and the broader impact of our general health on the cycling of our reproductive hormones, such as oestrogen and progesterone, acupuncture can bring the body back into balance and, in the process, reduce pain and irregularities.

Women of all ages can benefit from acupuncture: for pregnant women, acupuncture can relieve many pregnancy-related problems; for younger and older women experiencing cramps, heavy bleeding and PMS, acupuncture can be great for relieving pain, regulating and re-balancing hormones.  For Women in menopause, hot flushes and sleep disturbances can be greatly reduced to make this transition more comfortable.  After childbirth, acupuncture can be helpful in replenishing energy.

A woman’s body experiences many different hormonal changes beginning at puberty, through menstruation, pregnancy, menopause and beyond.  This ever-changing hormonal environment is sensitively associated with our emotions, nutrition, home & work life balance, relationships, genetics and stress levels, which can all impact women in different ways not only throughout these natural cycles, but during other seasons of a woman’s life too.  Hormonal changes are happening all the time but they are often more strongly felt at these times.

Increasingly women are turning to Chinese Medicine to find symptomatic and long-term relief of the symptoms associated with this dynamic hormonal landscape.  Acupuncture, along with diet and exercise are able to restore hormonal and emotional balance and vitality during all of these stages.  It does this by influencing the body's hormonal/nervous system self-regulating mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being.  A broad body of research confirms acupuncture’s ability to regulate these bodily systems.

Here are five ways that acupuncture can help women find greater balance, vitality and reproductive health:-

1) Menstruation

Acupuncture’s powerful regulating influence can help to restore a regular rhythm and flow to women’s cycles helping to reduce cramping, heavy bleeding and menstrual irregularity.  It’s ability to calm the nervous system can provide a much welcome settling effect on the mood changes that many women struggle with during this time.  Studies to prove acupuncture's efficacy for cramping and pain are being published all the time, and my own experience in practice show me daily just how well acupuncture can help women who are suffering from menstrual pain.  

2) Peri-menopause/Menopause

Chinese Medicine can be offer a natural hormone-stabilising alternative to HRT at this stage in a women’s life.   Falling oestrogen levels, changing nutrient and metabolic demands, and the influence of stress can create uncomfortable symptoms, at least until we adjust to the internal changes of menopause.  An acupuncturist is able to help the body run more harmoniously and bring stability to the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause.  The process is similar to a musician being able to hear where there may be dissonance within a piece of music.  They are able to recognise how well a single note, or combination of notes, will balance and bring harmony to the whole.  Similarly, the insertion of carefully chosen fine needles re-tunes the hormonal and nervous systems (2), which help to reduce the frequency/intensity of hot flushes (1), night sweats, insomnia and anxiety.

In Chinese Medicine, menopause is created by a decline of ‘yin’, which is the cooling, calming and moistening mechanism within the body.  As we get older our body is not as efficient at balancing our natural rhythms of cooling and calming leaving us feeling anxious, hot, irritable, emotionally unsettled and unable to sleep as deeply.  

3) Pregnancy and post-natal support

Acupuncture can relieve the lower back discomfort and other aches and pains associated with pregnancy, as well as morning sickness, heartburn, anxiety and tiredness. After delivery, many women find acupuncture treatments essential for rebuilding their energy and blood, increasing milk supply (3), and dealing with post-natal depression and tiredness.

4) Conception support

For women trying to get pregnant, acupuncture can assist conception by increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs.  It also balances reproductive hormones, such as oestrogen, progesterone and FSH.  Fertility clinics are increasingly recommending acupuncture for their patients to help lower overall stress levels, because stress hormones can lower fertility hormones, and improve IVF success rates (4).

"Acupuncture is thought to shift the body into a repair mode where it's better able to heal itself, as well as calming the nervous system,".  Stress causes the sympathetic nervous system to be over stimulated causing blood flow to be diverted away from the ovaries and uterus.  This can contribute to a potential inability to become pregnant.  Acupuncture activates the para-sympathetic nervous system, which helps us to relax and de-stress, increasing the likelihood of pregnancy.

5) Anxiety and depression

Emotional sensitivity to hormonal changes can vary greatly between women.  Some women experience relatively mild and minimal symptoms, whilst others go through a really rough time struggling with anxiety, depression, insecurity and fear, irritability and a lack of confidence....symptoms can be severe enough to dramatically impact on quality of life. The way that each individual experiences menstruation or menopause depends to a lesser or greater extent on their gynaecological history, influence of stress and relationships, psychological problems and changing levels of nutrients/hormones within the body.  As a holistic medicine, acupuncture is able to get down to the root issues, considering all of the different aspects of a person’s health in order to bring the body back into balance.

5 ways to bring the body back into balance

1.    Eat plenty of essential fatty acids as they are essential to the reproductive system, such as fish, fish oil, flaxseed oil, eggs, soy products, raw nuts and seeds, and dark green and winter vegetables like broccoli, beets, carrots, kale cabbage, cauliflower etc.  Omega 3 found in deep-sea fish oil has been found to reduce clotting and encourage blood flow to the uterus.

2.    To give your body a chance to be at its strongest and healthiest do what you can to breathe deeply and relax.  Yoga is a great way of restoring energy and promoting relaxation, as it to softens tense muscles, encouraging greater blood flow throughout the body. Under stress, the reproductive and endocrine systems will not get the blood flow they need to function effectively.  This is particularly important if you’re trying to get pregnant.

3.    Get adequate physical exercise.  Honour your limits....too much exercise can sometimes deplete our energy and blood reserves. Always adapt the intensity and frequency of the exercise according to how you're feeling.

4.    Eat foods that nourish the blood and ‘yin’, particularly if iron levels are low, or you’re going through the menopause, such as kidney beans, organic organ meats, black beans, beets, black sesame seeds, legumes, spirulina, asparagus, aubergine, eggs.

5.    Take time each day for rest and relaxation.

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How does acupuncture work?

From a biochemical perspective, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body's homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional well-being. Stimulation of certain acupuncture points has been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress.

Acupuncture’s strength is in it’s ability to holistically pull together and make sense of the symptoms and underlying contributing issues that have pre-disposed someone to a particular women’s health problem.  Then through treatment, re-balance and reset the reproductive system so it that it functions more effectively.

What will happen during the treatment?

During the first consultation a case history is taken, which simply takes the form of a conversation about you and why you are seeking treatment, what your current health is like, how your health has been throughout your life and other areas such as diet, sleep, relationships, work and hobbies.

Through a combination of acupuncture, massage, relaxation techniques, and sometimes counselling, you will be supported to release tension and emotions that may be inhibiting healthy blood flow to the uterus, as well as given dietary recommendations to help replenish your energy.  All of which can help to reset your menstrual cycle.

Benefits of acupuncture on the reproductive system

Research has shown that enhanced pelvic blood flow, reduced inflammation and stress reduction that result from acupuncture treatment can, not only improve infertility, but also make an irregular menstrual cycle more regular, reduce period pain and relieve premenstrual symptoms. Link to BAcC

Acupuncture and Pregnancy

Acupuncture is also a safe and natural option during pregnancy.  Studies have shown acupuncture to be effective for stress, morning sickness, hip and low back pain and labour induction.  It can also be used to help a number of other problems too, as well as gently preparing the body for labour, increasing energy levels and improving sleep. 

Acupuncture, fertility and IVF

Chinese doctors have known for centuries that acupuncture improves fertility, but this is now confirmed by recent clinical studies showing that acupuncture treatment improves the success rates for in­vitro fertilization (IVF) in many women  Link to BAcC Beneficial results from combining acupuncture treatment with IVF include increased number of follicles, thickened uterine lining and increased number of embryos, resulting in greater chances of pregnancy.  

Acupuncture and peri-menopause/menopause

Peri-menopause can be a challenging transition for many women and often occurs years prior to menopause. It may occur in the 40s, 30s, or earlier and is related to a decrease in estrogen production by the ovaries. Indications of perimenopause include hot flashes, fatigue, increased premenstrual syndrome (PMS), irregular menstrual cycles, insomnia, vaginal dryness, decreased libido, mood swings, anxiety, and breast tenderness. Conventional treatments include hormone replacement therapy and antidepressants.  The regulatory, settling and calming effects of acupuncture can be incredibly helpful during this time.  One of my patients described feeling like a ‘fuzzy anxious mess’ before her treatment started! But as treatment progressed felt more like her 'old self again’.

How many treatments will I need?

An initial course of acupuncture is usually 6 weeks, thereafter appointments are often less frequent, although it would normally be recommended that treatments be given over a period of three menstrual cycles for menstrual pain, heaviness and irregularities or infertility.

If you would like further information about how acupuncture can be beneficial for anything covered here please contact Nicky Thomas on 07583-291616 or email nickyjanethomas123@gmail.com.

Tips for easing menstrual pain

Often we crave carbs or sugary foods before or during the menstrual cycle.  But foods that reduce congestion such as oily fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and nuts and seeds all help to ease menstrual pain. Salmon is high in omega 3 and reduces inflammation.  

Exercise is a great way to reduce stress and encourage better blood circulation, which will help to ease those monthly aches and pains.