Is Acupuncture an Effective Remedy for Menstrual Pain?

Many ladies find that they experience cramps and pain just before menstruation occurs. These cramps can usually cause a great deal of pain around the lower abdomen and lower back area. Most ladies have resorted to over-the-counter pain medication to address this condition, but there seems to be few other non-medical options.

The proper term for this occurrence is Dysmenorrhoea and is a very common gynaecological condition.

In Western medicine Dysmenorrhoea is commonly treated thru the utilisation of non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAID) or the contraceptive pill (the “Pill”). The reason these two methods are frequently utilized is that they can help to reduce the activity of the muscles in the uterus and lesson the effects of the cramps that cause pain. Now, by their very nature, each of the treatments provide only symptomatic relief and don’t help treat the actual cause of this condition.

Moreover, the usage of both a contraceptive pill and anti inflammatory drugs both come with the potential for several unwanted side effects. NSAID are associated to 43% of drug-related emergency room visits in the US. The complications of NSAID are in many cases serious enough to cause in ulcers, upper gastrointestinal bleeding and in severe cases death. In the USA alone, a projected 103,000 hospitalizations and 16,500 deaths occur from NSAID use each year. Also, for those that do not experience these serious side effects, 10-20% of patients prescribed NSAIDs experience upset stomach and nausea.

The complications of the oral contraceptive pill are in most cases, not nearly as serious as those that can be experienced with NSAIDs, but are still worth being conscious of. Complications of the Pill may include: breakthrough bleeding, hypertension and acne. Additionally, there were worries about weight gain, cancer and depression being linked to the employment of the contraceptive pill, though these side effects have not been proven.

What about a substitute for the Western medical treatments discussed? Here is where acupuncture comes into the picture. Acupuncture has been utilized effectively to treat dysmenorrhoea for some time now. In many cases the discomfort linked with this condition subsides after just a few acupuncture treatments.

When you visit your acupuncturist, they will probably ask you a sequence of questions so as to identify the reason for the pain. In some cases, lifestyle factors like diet, stress, anxiety or other emotional factors can contribute to the scale of the issue.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers a few different treatment choices for dysmenorrhoea. 2 the treatments available for menstrual pain are Chinese herbs and acupuncture. Your acupuncturist can determine the correct and most effective strategy available to treat your personal condition and symptoms.

Rob Green is a regular article author for BodaHealth a provider of massage therapy and acupuncture in Vancouver, BC.