Acupuncture can increase the chances of getting pregnant for women undergoing fertility treatment by 65%, a review of the evidence concludes today.
Acupuncture, which involves inserting fine needles under the skin at particular points in the body depending on the condition being treated, has long been used in China to help with a range of diagnoses, including regulating female reproduction.
To establish how effective the treatment is, doctors in the US collated evidence from all relevant, well-conducted studies and published their conclusions in today’s British Medical Journal.
Eric Manheimer, research associate at the centre for integrative medicine at the University of Maryland school of medicine and colleagues looked at seven studies. All had been published in English since 2002 and conducted in four different western countries. The trials involved 1,366 women undergoing in vitro fertility treatment – where eggs and sperm are removed and mixed in the laboratory and one or more resulting embryos returned to the womb.
In the trials some women were given genuine acupuncture, others “sham” acupuncture, such as putting needles in the wrong places, and some no treatment at all. Overall the genuine acupuncture improved a woman’s chances of pregnancy by 65%. All the acupuncture took place within a day or so of embryo transfer. Not all the pregnancies would have resulted in a live birth. In trials where the clinic’s pregnancy rate was already high, there was a smaller, non-significant increase. Manheimer said the results were not necessarily a reason for every infertile woman to seek out acupuncture.
“I think the findings should be regarded as somewhat preliminary,” he said. “Acupuncture can improve the rates of pregnancy and live birth. Some couples might want to choose acupuncture but others might want to wait until further research has been done.”
But Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula medical school, Exeter, urged caution. “IVF may not seem to be ‘placebo-prone’ but it probably is: if women expect it to be helpful they are more relaxed, which in turn would affect pregnancy rates.”
Manheimer argued a placebo response was unlikely, arguing that acupuncture may stimulate the body to produce neurotransmitters which influence the menstrual cycle, ovulation and fertility.
Original Article can be found at The Guardian’s Health Page
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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Acupuncture & Moxibustion Treatment is an ancient Chinese method of treating different diseases by inserting one or more very thin pins at certain points on the body. It has been practiced in China and the orient for more than 5000 years.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medical science is practiced based on keeping or restore balance of vital energy in the body and treating accordingly. The imbalance can be caused by physical or emotional difficulties. The acupuncture & moxibustion doctor restores the balance by inserting fine sterilized pins in to the points of the channels of energy, through stimulating the body’s own natural healing mechanisms. So, Acupuncture & moxibustion is the process of encouraging the body to promote natural healing. The general theory of acupuncture is based on the principle that there are patterns of energy flow through the body that are essential for health. Disruptions of this flow are believed to be responsible for disease. Acupuncture & moxibustion corrects imbalances of flow. Throughout its long history, acupuncture treatment has established a solid reputation as an excellent alternative for health care and is very effective to treat some diseases, where other methods of treatment could not achieve good result or failed.
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October 7, 2010 in 
