Researchers from Nanjing Traditional Chinese Medicine University and Haian Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital find acupuncture combined with herbs effective for the alleviation of endometriosis. Two patient groups were compared in a six month clinical trial. One group received Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and herbs) and the other group received mifepristone (RU-486®, a synthetic steroid that inhibits progesterone action, used for the treatment endometriosis or as an abortifacient). Ultrasonography for detection of endometriomas and growths in addition to blood tests (cancer antigen 125, anti-endometrial antibody) were used to determine treatment efficacy. The bloodwork was equivalent and ultrasonography finds both TCM and...Weiterlesen

Vulvar vestibulitis is a disease of unknown aetiology involving inflammation of the skin and the mucous secreting glands found in the skin of the vulvar vestibule. It can occur in women of all ages, whether sexually active or not, can persist for years, and gives rise to symptoms such as severe pain on pressure (for example cycling, exercise or tight fitting clothes), intercourse or insertion of tampons, burning, stinging and irritation, redness and the urge to urinate frequently or suddenly. Possible implicating factors include human papilloma virus, chronic yeast infections, chronic bacterial infections, chronic changes of the acid-base balance in...Weiterlesen

A study of 593 women at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, Australia, who were less than 14 weeks pregnant and suffered from symptoms of nausea or vomiting, compared traditional acupuncture, simple acupuncture at Neiguan P-6 only, sham acupuncture and no acupuncture. The acupuncture patients received two 20-minute sessions of acupuncture in the first week followed by one weekly treatment for four weeks. Traditional acupuncture consisted of the insertion of a maximum of 6 needles at a mixture of abdominal points and points selected according to pattern differentiation. Abdominal points were Burong ST-19, Chengman ST-20, Liangmen ST-21, Youmen KID-21, Futonggu...Weiterlesen

Acupressure at Sanyinjiao SP-6 can help with cervical ripening in labour, according to a study from Iran. In a randomised trial, 150 primigravid women with term pregnancies were randomised to one of three interventions: acupressure at Sanyinjiao SP-6 performed by a researcher, self-applied acupressure at Sanyinjiao SP-6, and routine care only. For both active intervention groups acupressure was applied at Sanyinjiao SP-6 for 20 minutes, once a day for five days. At 48 hours after beginning treatment, cervical ripening scores were found to be significantly better in the researcher-performed acupressure group and self-performed acupressure group, in comparison with the control...Weiterlesen

Abstract Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnancy (NVP), or morning sickness is a common clinical condition affecting at least 50% of women in the first trimester of pregnancy. The acupuncture point Pericardium 6 (PC6) is located on the palmar side of the wrist and is one of the principle points in terms of Chinese medicine for treating all forms of vomiting and nausea. Six studies were thoroughly examined in the form of a systematic review to investigate the efficacy of PC6 by applying acupuncture and acupressure to treat NVP. Following the research, PC6 appears to be effective in reducing the symptoms...Weiterlesen

Dysmenorrhoea patients that experience a ‘deqi’ needling sensation demonstrate larger reductions in pain relative to those who do not, according to a Chinese study. Eighty-eight patients with primary dysmenorrhoea were randomly assigned to either deqi or no deqi groups, and received acupuncture at Sanyinjiao SP-6 for 30 minutes. The deqi group received deep needling with manipulation, using thick needles, while the no deqi group received shallow needling with no manipulation, using thin needles. After the treatment, both groups showed reductions in pain scores, with no significant differences between the groups. In the deqi group, 43 out of 43 patients reported...Weiterlesen

Chinese investigators have found that acupuncture can contribute to a clinically relevant improvement in perimenopausal insomnia (PMI), both subjectively and objectively. Seventy-six perimenopausal women with insomnia received ten sessions of acupuncture at bilateral Shenshu BL-23 and Ganshu BL-18 with unilateral Qimen LIV-14 and Jingmen GB-25, or placebo needling at the same acupoints, over a three week period. After treatment, the decrease from baseline in sleep quality and insomnia severity scores was significantly greater in the acupuncture group compared with the placebo group. Acupuncture treatment also significantly improved sleep efficiency and total sleep time, and was associated with less waking after...Weiterlesen