If you are having difficulty getting pregnant, and if you have already tried your GP, fertility specialist, and IVF from NHS but to no avail, trying natural fertility options can be an effective way of improving your chances. One such natural fertility treatment option is acupuncture.
Acupuncture works best when a functional problem is the cause of infertility, specifically when endometriosis, ovulatory problems or hormonal imbalances are the cause for not getting pregnant.
However, it is much more tricky to use acupuncture treatments when structural problems, such as an improperly formed epididymis or a blocked fallopian tube, are the cause of infertility. In the latter case, advice from your GB needs to be sought and acupuncture should be used as an assistance rather than a replacement of western medicine.
Acupuncture and Female Infertility
Acupuncture infertility treatment can be applied either on its own or in conjunction with assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures, such as IVF.
A report published in the journal Fertility and Sterility (2002) found the pregnancy rate in the group receiving acupuncture group was 42.5%, compared to the group which did not receive the therapy, where the rate was 26.3%.
A 2004 study conducted by the Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Center in Colorado found that 51% of women who underwent both IVF and acupuncture treatment at the same time became pregnant, while only 36% of those who only underwent IVF did. The latter group also had higher rates of miscarriage and stillbirth (20%) compared to those women who had received acupuncture (8%).
Acupuncture and Male Infertility
Acupuncture can also be used to treat men’s fertility problems, including erectile dysfunction or sperm health problems, such as low sperm count.
Recently a study was published in journal Fertility and Sterility describing the effectiveness of acupuncture on male fertility. This study suggests once again that acupuncture has positive effects in treating male infertility: it improves a number of normal sperm and reduces sperm defects.
Study was conducted on a study group of 28 men, all diagnosed with idiopathic infertility. Study group received acupuncture twice a week over a period of 5 weeks. Needles were inserted 15 and 25 millimeters, depending on the region treated. Control group did not receive any treatment.
During treatment needles were manipulated for approximately 10 minutes, and then they were left in place for another 25 minutes.
According to the research, semen samples were collected from both study and control group after a 3-day period of sexual abstinence, one sample before the acupuncture treatment began and one sample after the last treatment.
According to the study results, motility levels increased significantly in semen samples in the men receiving acupuncture. In the control group median motility levels increased from 32% to 37% in the control group, while in the study group that received acupuncture, the median motility levels increased from 44.5% to 50%.
Additionally, the number and percentage of healthy sperm also increased. After the 10th acupuncture sessions, the median percentage of healthy sperm had increased more than four-fold.
Moreover, significant changes were noted in sperm structure and quality in the group that received acupuncture treatment: the median percentage of normal acrosome shapes increased for 16%.
In conclusion, acupuncture appeared to improve the overall quality and structural integrity of sperm, which could, according to researchers lead to acupuncture treating male infertility.
Symptoms:
The symptoms vary and are characterised by various combinations of constipation and/or diarrhea, abdominal pain, sometimes mucus in the stool, flatulence, and vegetative symptoms. Mental stress is very significant in the etiology of this pyschosomatic disorder.
The Chinese Medicine way:
As in other disorders of the digestive organs, the symptoms are differentiated according to traditional diagnostic categories:
- Excess-type disturbances with damp-heat in the large intestine are apparent in acute cramping pain, acute diarrhea, or spastic constipation. Spleen deficiency often lies at the bottom of this condition. Vigorous needling is indicated in such cases.
- Deficiency-type disturbances are characterized by chronic constipation or chronic diarrhea with weakness symptoms, such as dull pain, lack of appetite, tiredness, depressive mood or anxiety state. Moxibustion is advisable in such cases. Moxibustion of Mu and Shu Points of the large intestine, spleen, and sometimes stomach channels is very effective.
In many skin disorders, such as neurodermatitis, acne, herpes zoster, psoriasis, and eczema, acupuncture treatment is effective. According to traditional ideas, the skin is related to the lung and the large intestine, and skin disorders are therefore treated with points on these channels. Both excess- and deficiency-type conditions should be considered for needle stimulation. Read more »
The treatment of hemiparesis occupies a major place in acupuncture clinics in China. Hemiparesis after a cerebral insult has a better prognosis than post-traumatic hemiparesis.
Paresis after poliomyelitis can also be treated successfully. Personal experience in the treatment of spastic paresis shows a significant reduction of the spasm in 30% of patients. Early treatment of paresis after cerebral palsy has especially good results. Even in long-standing paresis amazing improvements are often achieved.
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October 5, 2010 in 
