Human infertility and acupuncture are closely associated with each other. But before we talk about this relationship, we should first know what acupuncture is all about.
Acupuncture is a natural form of medical procedure and is considered an alternative type of medicine by western medicine. It has been practiced in China for over five millennia bur has spread in Eastern Asian countries that practice their own kind of acupuncture technique. James Reston a New York Times journalist “introduced” acupuncture in the United States in 1972 when he had an appendectomy surgery and used acupuncture instead of conventional general anesthesia during his operation. The use of acupuncture as an anesthetic during surgery since them became indelibly marked in the mass consciousness of Americans. As acupuncture became more and more known, Americans began to realize that the benefits of acupuncture extended beyond the mere relief of pain. With endorsements from the World Health Organization ad the National Institutes of Health, acupuncture has become an effective and popular treatment for many types of illnesses and diseases. The popularity of acupuncture has led to the rise of 16 acupuncture schools as well as two medical schools in the US. Acupuncture was proven powerful enough to be used as an anesthetic even for brain surgeries. In the United States alone, there are now over 8000 licensed acupuncture practitioners who offer their services throughout the US.
Relationship between Infertility and Acupuncture
Aside from knowing the connection between acupuncture and infertility, we would also know how acupuncture techniques can treat infertility problems. Studies have demonstrated that acupuncture is strong enough to treat both female and male infertility. Also, other conditions associated with infertility such as PMS (premenstrual syndrome), blocked fallopian tubes and amenorrhea can be resolved by acupuncture. Acupuncture does not only treat the symptoms of a condition but also the underlying root of the condition, something conventional western medicine cannot do. Acupuncture is oftentimes complemented by Chinese herbal medicines making the treatment for of infertility much quicker and much more effective. The fundamental procedures of acupuncture were invented by Taoists in China over three thousand years ago. These procedures assist in reenergizing the internal and external organs of the body by guaranteeing that the flow of internal vital energy moves smoothly. This also helps the body organs function at high efficiency levels. Infertility therapy and acupuncture treatment are intimately related, since important acupressure points are chosen for the insertion of sterilized acupuncture needles. This allows the functions of the human reproductive organs to perform optimally as obstructions that have developed in the pathways where energy flows have now been removed.
Infertility treatment using acupuncture has several incredible benefits. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture can work well together. They can also be excellent complementary therapies for conventional treatments. Some the advantages in using acupuncture are as follows:
Acupuncture does not have any side effects – the levels of toxicity are oftentimes high in invasive procedures than in acupuncture. Furthermore, the intake of pharmaceutical drugs can be significantly lowered when using acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a holistic type of medicine – it is a treatment that treats the emotional, mental and physical aspects of the human body. Distinct parts of the body like the female ovary, fallopian tubes uterus and even the volume and amount of sperm count are not treated per se. Acupuncture is a comprehensive medical system that treats all aspects of a human being. So the underlying causes of infertility are identified and then resolved. Because of this, the probability of a person getting healed on his/her own is greatly increased.
With acupuncture, the likelihood of success of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) is greatly increased – ART procedures such as ICSI, TET, GIFT, ZIFT, AHT and IVF become quite successful techniques when they are complemented with acupuncture therapy. The reason for this is that acupuncture improves the present condition of health of the patients. Combined with Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture can help a person regain the complete health of his/her endocrine system. This allows his/her overall physique to increase in health and strength. Women are able to attain pregnancy more easily with the utilization of certain acupuncture techniques. Also, the recovery in the postnatal process gets speeded up.
With acupuncture, one may not need or at least limit any medications for infertility – one can see the association between acupuncture and infertility in the way acupuncture seems to be the best treatment for resolving several infertility related issues. Acupuncture, in fact, is highly recommended by western doctors for several kinds of infertility. When western modes of treatment are integrated with acupuncture procedures, this integration is called integral Chinese medicine or ITCM, for short. ITCM is even a much more effective treatment than acupuncture at times, since it can add to the overall effectiveness of acupuncture techniques by a great deal more.
As we have seen, there is a close affinity between infertility and acupuncture. A holistic type of treatment is one where the patient is considered a whole unit, instead of addressing just certain parts of his/her body. Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine address human health conditions this way. Oftentimes, acupuncture treats stress which is a common underlying cause of many health problems including male and female infertility. Acupuncturists also require the patient to follow a healthy balanced diet, perform regular exercises in addition to the therapies of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture. All in all, acupuncture techniques as well as other holistic procedures are seen to be incredibly powerful in curing issues relating to infertility.