20/09/2022
ACUPUNCTURE AND FERTILITY
The great thing about Acupuncture is that it’s safe. And works very well with other medicines and has no side effects.
The concept of acupuncture treatment is to balance energy. The underlying problem with infertility is an imbalance of energy.
There are a few different theories used in Chinese Medicine that enables differentiation of syndromes and helps in making the proper diagnosis and therefore knowing how to proceed with treatment.
One of these is what we call the Eight Principles which focuses on: heat versus cold; interior versus exterior; deficiency versus excess and yin and yang. Yin and Yang are two very important aspects of Chinese Medicine. To explain this theory a bit further is that every object or phenomenon in the universe consists of two opposite aspects namely yin and yang. These two aspects work in opposites, interdependent, inter-supporting and inter-transforming and in harmony with each other. In other words they need each other. Yang is our activity, its when our attention is out there working and being busy and Yin is our reserve, its like the money in the purse. And of course if we use up all our money out there (Yang) then we start to draw on our reserve (Yin) and then we end up in a crisis where we are deficient in both Yin and Yang. To preserve yin and likewise yang it is very important to have a balance in life between work, rest and play. By rest, I don't just mean just sleep but also timeout for relaxation and maintaining that relaxed state even at the busiest times.
Another Chinese theory is what is known as the Five Elements. This holds that wood, fire, earth, metal and water are basic materials for the whole universe to survive. They are also essential for the proper function of the human body and relate and connect to the 5 internal organs. That is the wood relates to liver; fire to the heart; metal to the lungs; earth to the spleen and water to the kidneys.
These would be the main guidelines for making any diagnosis. There are other factors that are also looked for in treating infertility. The main one of these is what is known as Kidney Essence and is an important cause of infertility. Kidney Essence is our Constitutional Energy or Qi in Chinese Medicine, it is our inheritance, it is the supply of energy we get when we are born. This may be weak and deficient so it is important to find this out. Weakness may be due to the woman's mother being too old at the time of conception or it could be that both parents health was not too good at the time of conception. Because the Kidney-Essence is the basis for fertility then if this is weak and deficient the woman cannot conceive.
Other factors to consider in treating infertility are: Overwork in the sense of working long hours over many years without adequate meals or rest. This is a major cause of Kidney-Yin Deficiency.
Another cause is Excessive Physical Work or strenuous exercise and sports which can weaken Spleen and Kidney-Yang especially at puberty time when a young girl's uterus is in a vulnerable state. At this age excessive physical work may take the form of playing too much sport, gymnastics and even working on a farm.
Invasion of Cold is a very common cause of infertility in young women. If a young girl is exposed to cold and dampness (especially during her period time) when exercising or playing sports. Cold invades the Uterus, turns into internal cold and obstructs the Uterus preventing fertility.
Sexual Activity at too early an age. This is getting to be more and more common. Girls are developing earlier and with free availability of contraceptives are becoming s*xually active at a much earlier age. This can seriously weaken the Kidney energy and damage the meridians and vessels connecting the uterus and ovaries and therefore cause infertility in later life.
Taking the Contraceptive Pill for too long a period of time suppresses vital energy and it can often be difficult to kick-start the cycle after coming off it, again acupuncture is a great help here.
The age of the woman: many women are now career focused and leave it until late in their lives when their energy is starting to dwindle.
I also check to see if the woman has already conceived and have other children. I want to know if she had a cesarean section. And if she had epidural injection, all these can damage the free flow of energy.
Water and body fluids are also very important. If water is deficient then there is not enough nourishment to support the fertilized egg or enough to produce the egg in the first place. If the body is very cold and lacking Fire then there is not enough "spark" to transform and activate Water, which therefore cannot fertilize or nourish the egg. And visa versa, if the Fire is excessive the blood in the Uterus may become too hot and this creates adverse conditions for fertilization and support of the egg.
And now we take above theories and combine them to see how they impact the woman's menstrual cycle:
1. Kidney-Yang Deficiency:
Prolonged menstrual cycle, the period could be either scanty or heavy, backache, dizziness, feeling cold, depression, frequent urination. Tongue Pale, wet and Pulse Deep and weak.
Treatment: Tonify and warm Kidney-Yang, stoke up the Fire of the Gate of Life and strengthen the Uterus.
Here I would also suggest a diet consisting of warm foods.
2. Kidney-Yin Deficiency:
Long-term Infertility, periods early, scanty, with light coloured bleed, hands and feet hot, night sweating, dizziness, tinnitus. Tongue without coating and red, Pulse rapid.
Treatment: Nourish Kidney-Yin and Kidney-Essence. In Chinese Medicine sweating is looked at very seriously. Through sweating we loose our vital energy through the pores of our body, our essence, which is the supply we got when we were born. This is to last us a lifetime and it must be cared for and protected.
Again, here I would look at lifestyle and stress. Where there is a lot of heat is a sign that the body is tired and burned out either through a lot of physical or through emotional stress hence the saying, "hot and bothered".
3. Blood Deficiency:
Scanty periods, pale blood, delayed cycle, tiredness, depression, dizziness, pale complexion and blurred vision. Tongue: pale and thin,. Pulse: choppy and fine.
Treatment: Nourish Blood and the Essence, strengthen Liver and Kidneys.
4. Dampness in the Uterus:
Irregular periods, delayed cycle, mid-cycle pain, vaginal discharge, long-term infertility, adhesions, obesity, feeling of heaviness and tiredness. Tongue: sticky coating/ Pulse: slippery.
Treatment: Resolve dampness, remove obstructions from the Directing and Penetrating Vessels.
5. Stagnation of Energy:
Irregular periods, pre-menstrual tension, painful periods, breast distension, irritability. Tongue: normal colour and slightly red at sides. Pulse wiry.
There is also the problem of Habitual Miscarriage to consider.
This is where the woman can get pregnant but is unable to maintain the pregnancy. In Chinese Medicine the main cause of this is deficiency of the kidneys, often concurrent with deficiency and sinking of spleen energy. Treatment would be carried out when the woman is not pregnant and she would be advised to avoid getting pregnant for at least six months. It would be very similar to that of infertility in that we would be focusing on the monthly cycle.
Treatments are usually one hourly sessions per week for up to 4 months. This is broken up into 4 phases during the woman's menstrual cycle:
Phase 1: After Period: time where the focus is on boosting Kidney Yin and regulate energy and blood.
Phase 2: Mid-cycle: time to warm the Yang and move energy and blood and promote ovulation and raise temperature.
Phase 3: Before the Period: tonify and warm the Kidneys and move energy and blood.
Phase 4: During the Period: Move Energy (Qi) and regulate menstruation by moving blood if scanty and stop bleeding if too heavy.
Male Infertility is also a major factor and tests can often prove deficient s***m count or/and insufficient s***m motility. From a Chinese perspective, the main causes of male infertility fall under three broad categories: a deficiency of the Kidney (usually yang); damp heat and damp-phlegm in the ge***al system. Acupuncture is very effective in addressing these issues.
And finally, there is one more topic that really needs to be taken into account and that is the huge emotional stress attached to infertility. Very often the woman feels inadequate and a failure and thus puts more and more pressure on herself to conceive. She and her partner are monitoring her monthly cycle. They are focusing on s*x for fertility purposes and this soon becomes a chore and a burden. It can put a tremendous strain on their relationship. There is a lot of suppressed tears associated with all of this so I always include some lung points to help release the grief and spleen points for worry and if necessary some liver points for anger and frustration. Fear is another major emotional factor and can often create anxiety and insomnia. Many women going through all these investigations for the first time can be very overwhelmed at the thought of needles, medical consultations, scans, blood tests, investigations and internal examinations and most importantly trying to continue working and being discreet about appointments. Acupuncture can help to ease all this fear and anxiety.
Clinical treatment includes acupuncture needles for body treatment, suction cups to reduce stagnation, moxibustion and electro magnet lamp. Added to that is Auricular Acupuncture which is embedding ear seeds to specific acupuncture points on the ear which the patient can press at regular intervals at home during the week thus giving themselves a treatment in between clinic appointments.
Written by Eithne Griffin, Lic. Ac.,
Member of (AFPA) Acupuncture Foundation Partnership Association.
www.redlotusclinic.com, 0866066865
References:
Essentials of Chinese Medicine
Obstetrics and Gynecology in Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia
Dr Tan’s Balancing Points
Dr. Mary McCaffrey, The Scotia Clinic, Tralee
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