Acupuncture and Fertility.

Eating to beat the heat

herbal-medicineOriental medicine (OM) emphasises that we should eat according to the season to stay healthy.

Summer is the season of maximum Yang (expansive, warming, vibrant energy). These days, we often see it as a time to kick back and relax, but it’s worth remembering that in ancient times, especially in an agrarian culture, summer would have been a physically demanding time of year. So diet would have been very important.

So what sort of food should we eat to help cool ourselves down when the mercury starts climbing? Have you ever noticed that when you devour an ice cream, it feels cooling at the time but you actually feel hotter soon afterwards? This is an example of the body trying to restore equilibrium. You put something very cold in your system and the body will try to warm itself up again to counteract this, and will often overshoot.

Oriental medicine (OM) takes a subtler approach. One of the first principles is to eat lighter meals than you would in winter or autumn, as heavy meals are taxing on the digestion and can make you feel sluggish.

Flavour is very important in OM dietetics, with five main flavours identified – salty, sweet, sour, pungent (acrid, spicy), and bitter. Each of these flavours has different energetic properties and has a different action in the body when consumed. The bitter flavour is thought to be cooling. So during summer, it’s a good idea to incorporate some foods with a slightly bitter flavour. Some of the examples recommended in ancient texts are a little hard to come across in the modern supermarket, but equivalents include green leafy vegetables such as kale, Chinese greens, raddichio, and rocket; sprouts; vinegar; and raw cacao. Bitter drinks would include green tea, dandelion tea, and tonic water. The key here is moderation – you would not include all of these at every meal, but just use some of them in small amounts, according to the temperature and how much you feel the heat.

From a broader health perspective, many of these bitter foods are packed with beneficial nutrients such as antioxidants. The bitter taste also helps stimulate the production of gastric acid and bile, and therefore helps digestion. Interestingly, modern Western culture tends to instead favour the sweet taste, overconsumption of which can tax our digestive systems and, in the long term, lead to diabetes and obesity.

applesSpicy foods can also be cooling when eaten in moderation. Think fresh ginger, chilli, capsicum, horseradish and black pepper, as seasoning or in curries. These spices help dissipate heat by bringing it out to the surface. But again – moderation – as if eaten in excess, they can dissipate too much energy, leaving you susceptible to illness in cooler weather.

Other foods seen to have an intrinsically cooling effect in OM are cucumber, tomatoes, celery; and many fruits, including apples, watermelon, lemons and limes. But don’t overdose on these either, especially if you have weak digestion (tendency to bloating or loose stools).

So, as you can see, OM has many dietary strategies to help you keep cool this summer, without reaching for the ice-cream.

Acupuncture – taking the fear out of a dentist’s visit or operation.

acupuncture dentistMost of us feel mildly uncomfortable, if not outright apprehensive, at the thought of a dental procedure or surgical operation. For example, surveys show that around one in five of us are very afraid of dentist visits. This fear can lead us to postpone dental treatment to the point where problems start to build up and we end up needing more work done than we might otherwise. Ouch…!

Poor dental health actually reduces our overall health too – it has been linked to heart disease and dementia – so this situation affects more than just our mouths.

Before operations, up to 70% of us feel anxious, and understandably so. But that anxiety can be counter-productive if it is severe or leads us to avoid procedures we really need.

What if there was a drug-free way to feel less anxious, more relaxed, more in control in these situations?

There is – Acupuncture. Two recent studies looked at the impact of Acupuncture on anxiety before operations and dentist visits.

The first looked at the effect of Acupuncture on surgical anxiety. The study was a “meta-analysis”, meaning that it reviewed all relevant and acceptable studies on this topic. It found that patients who had real Acupuncture just before their operation were significantly less anxious than those who had “sham” Acupuncture (where the researchers used points on the body that are not Acupuncture points or they did not actually insert a needle). One of the trials suggested that preoperative Acupuncture was just as effective as a commonly used anti-anxiety medication, although the number of people in that study was too small to be sure.

The second study looked at how Acupuncture affects anxiety at the dentists. In this trial, the researchers used Acupuncture on points on the ear, comparing real with sham Acupuncture. The volunteers had Acupuncture shortly before their dentist appointment. Real Acupuncture led to a significantly greater reduction in anxiety than did sham Acupuncture in patients waiting to see the dentist. In contrast, a control group who did not have any anxiety-relieving treatment became more anxious as they waited to be called by the dentist, as you might have experienced yourself!

The use of ear points in this study is interesting, as in practice, acupuncturists can retain tiny needles or small ball bearings (affixed to tape so they will not drop off) at these points. This means that the needles or balls are still in place when you go into the dentist’s so you can stimulate them yourself by pressing them to boost the calming effect.

So if you have been putting off that dentist visit or operation, do so no longer! Acupuncture just before the procedure (or if ear seeds are used, up to a few days before) could make it a much more relaxing experience. I would suggest a couple of sessions prior to the procedure so that the points can be individualised for you for maximum benefit.

 

How does Acupuncture work?

acupuncture-pointsIt might seem bizarre that inserting needles into various points on the body can influence the way our cells work. But a lot of research shows this is the case.

One of the areas most studied is the pain-killing effect of acupuncture. We have known for some time now that acupuncture affects nerve conduction within the spinal cord. The basis of the theory is that acupuncture stimulation ‘closes a gate’ within the spinal cord, preventing pain signals from travelling up the spinal cord and getting to the brain.

Beyond this, we also know that acupuncture has hormonal effects. Researchers initially noted that when people addicted to narcotic drugs (like heroin or morphine) had surgery using acupuncture as anaesthesia, they did not experience the withdrawal syndrome that you’d usually expect when the narcotics were stopped. This is because endorphins, the chemicals released by the brain when you exercise that are responsible for the “feel-good” phenomenon, are also released during acupuncture. This effect can be blocked with an endorphin-blocking drug.

We also know that acupuncture increases blood flow at the site needled, probably through local release of biochemically active substances.

Do meridians really exist?

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, energy (Qi) flows through the body along pathways or meridians, and acupuncture influences this flow. These meridian lines are depicted in texts that are at least 2000 years old.

Scientists have found that electrical resistance of the skin is much lower at acupuncture points (which are mainly situated along the meridians) than other points. This supports the idea of a flow of electrical energy through the body along meridians, which can be accessed via the skin at the acupuncture points.

 

acupuncture meridiansBut has science found any other evidence that meridians exist?

One study injected radioactive tracer molecules into acupuncture points (on meridians) and random points not on meridians. At the acupuncture points, the tracer travelled in a line consistent with the traditional description of the meridian, whereas it just diffused outwards at the non-meridian point.

When we look down a conventional microscope, meridians have been elusive. But some studies using electron microscopy (giving a much more magnified view in which individual cells can be seen) have shown thread-like structures within lymphatics, within blood vessels, on the surface of organs, and elsewhere. These structures appeared to contain fluid and may be the meridians described in ancient texts.

Although further research into this is required, the preliminary findings are fascinating. Clearly we are only just beginning to understand the science behind what the ancient texts described thousands of years ago.

 

Ice or heat for injuries?

acupuncture fire iceA question I am often asked in clinic is “Should I use ice or heat on this injury?”.

The icing controversy

The conventional viewpoint is that it’s best to ice an injury in the first few hours and to apply heat to a chronic (long-lasting) injury. Ice, along with rest, compression and elevation (R-I-C-E), is seen to limit swelling and inflammation for the first 24-48 hours following an injury. However, the use of ice has recently been questioned by some in Western medicine, and has never been advocated in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In clinic, what we tend to see is that people continue to ice injuries long after this initial period, and that this can lead to problems.

This is particularly true for tendons and ligaments, as these structures naturally have less blood supply than muscles. So ligament and tendon injuries are particularly likely to become longstanding if we interfere with the already low blood flow.

So among some sections of the sports injuries world, for tendon and ligament injuries, RICE has been superseded by M-E-A-T (movement – exercise – analgesia (pain relief) – treatments (that promote blood flow).

Conventionally, ice application is recommended immediately after an injury under the premise that it helps the coagulation process, limiting bleeding from damaged blood vessels. The second reason put forward for icing an injury is that ice can ease inflammation. Thirdly, it has a numbing effect so can help relieve pain.

So let’s look at these aspects in turn.

Stopping bleeding immediately after an injury certainly makes sense. But how long is the window of opportunity for this? One animal study suggests that critical period for preventing secondary injury (from swelling due to bleeding around the injury) may be much shorter than we originally thought – somewhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours, with the first 30 minutes being the most critical.

It’s generally accepted that too much inflammation is a bad thing. But some animal research shows that interfering with inflammation after trauma may be detrimental. It could actually slow down healing. Researchers have found that injured cells produce the inflammatory hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1), which significantly increases the rate of muscle repair. In mice bred to not produce IGF-1, healing after an injury was slower than in normal mice.

How about pain relief? In 2004, researchers looked at all the available studies to try to determine the effectiveness of ice after injuries and surgery. As part of this, they looked into pain relief. They found that while ice helped to reduce pain, the majority of studies showed that compression alone was just as effective. They also noted that there wasn’t much good-quality research into this area.

 

How Traditional Chinese Medicine sees cold

In Chinese Medical theory, too much cold is not a good thing. In fact it is seen as the root of many problems, with the cold becoming lodged in the tissues, leading to ongoing stiffness and pain.

Of course, in ancient China there were no freezers. Only those who lived in cold or mountainous regions would even have had access to ice. So people needed other ways to treat injuries. Traditional Chinese Medicine has a whole toolkit of techniques to help heal injuries. For acute injuries, a form of massage incorporating acupressure points (tui na), as well as acupuncture and moxibustion (a herbal heat treatment on specific points) can help relieve pain and reduce swelling. For chronic injuries that are slow to heal, as well as the above therapies, techniques such as Tai Chi can be very useful in gently promoting movement and freeing up the area. These forms of treatment correspond much better to the MEAT viewpoint than the ICE protocol – Tai Chi for movement and exercise, acupuncture for analgesia (pain relief), and acupuncture/massage and moxibustion for treatments that promote blood flow, thereby promoting rather than hindering the body’s natural healing mechanisms.

 

How does heat help after an injury?

Heat is certainly useful in the chronic phase of an injury, as it relaxes the area, promotes blood flow and relieves pain. I generally recommend patients apply warm packs after any swelling has gone down. Another approach is to use ginger soaks or compresses, which also have a warming action. [Link to ginger poultice article]

When used correctly, heat is also very useful in the acute phase of an injury. If you come to see me in the first couple of days after minor trauma, I will perform a full assessment of the injury. Then I will usually burn small cones of moxa, derived from the leaf of the mugwort plant, to apply heat to specific points around the site. I can also teach you how to use this technique at home between clinic visits, to maximise the rate of healing. When used in this way, moxa actually has a slight cooling effect (by encouraging local sweating), but is much gentler than ice. It encourages local blood flow and reduces pain, allowing you to gradually get back to the activities you enjoy. Other moxibustion techniques are useful once the inflammation has started to subside and we are concentrating on regaining range of motion.

Gentle acupuncture using very fine needles at specific points is also helpful in triggering the body’s healing mechanisms.

 

Heat or cold for injuries – summary.

  • See if you can avoid ice if possible, especially for injuries likely to involve ligaments and tendons rather than muscles – in other words the sinewy parts of the body: ankles, knees, wrists/hands. If you are going to use ice, restrict it to the first 24-48 hours. Make sure any cold compress / ice pack is well wrapped in a towel to avoid injuring the skin from excessive cold. Use for no longer than 20 min at a time.
  • Heat is more useful after this stage, along with gentle mobilisation, depending on the extent of the injury. Be guided by your body and stop any movements that make the pain worse.
  • If you can get in to see an acupuncturist in the first day or so after the injury, this is very useful and may allow you to avoid using ice and speed up recovery.

Sleep peacefully with Oriental Medicine

acupuncture oriental sleepHow did you sleep last night? Could have been better? If you are rubbing your eyes while reading this and trying to counteract the effects of insomnia with coffee, you are not alone. Almost one in four of us has trouble sleeping on a regular basis.

Much has been said about modern life eating into our sleep. In Victorian times, before the electric light bulb, adults generally slept 9-10 hours per night. Ancient Chinese texts describe the idea of the body being governed by a 24-hour clock, with each of the 12 main meridians responsible for a 2-hour segment of the clock. For the body to function at its best, with all meridian pathways and associated organs working smoothly, it is advised to be in deep sleep by 11pm, so to go to bed between 9 and 10pm, and to rise between 5 and 7am. But with today’s long and irregular working hours and access to electronic devices that stimulate the brain instead of winding us down, many of us would struggle to follow these guidelines.

We now know that chronic (long-term) sleep deprivation has a host of health consequences. It plays havoc with your hormonal and metabolic regulation, contributing to weight gain, elevated stress hormones, and raised blood pressure. If you aren’t sleeping well, you are also more likely to struggle to concentrate, have accidents at work or while driving, and to suffer from depression.

If insomnia has been a long-term issue for you, you will probably have tried a lot of the self-help strategies recommended. Even so, it’s worth reading through the list at the end of this article to see if there are ways you could tweak your lifestyle to help promote sleep.

Various medications are available for insomnia, but most have side-effects you’d probably rather be without, like feeling groggy in the day. And for some classes of these drugs, long-term dependence is a real issue. So the ideal approach (in combination with lifestyle changes, of course) is one that’s natural and doesn’t have troublesome side effects.

That’s where Oriental medicine (the combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine) come in. This has a long history of use for insomnia. There are several Oriental medicine patterns associated with insomnia, and we work out which is responsible by taking a detailed history of your sleep issues and other aspects of your health, examining your pulse, tongue and abdomen and putting all the information together.

Treatments focus on calming the mind, using a combination of points throughout the body. I use the gentle Japanese style of needling, which inserts very fine needles very shallowly, so is suitable for even the most needle-phobic. Generally, 4-6 weekly sessions will give us a good idea of your response to treatment. After a few sessions, herbal support is often introduced as the frequency of acupuncture treatments is dropped.

There has been quite a bit of research done on acupuncture and sleep, although the quality of the research could be better.

One recent research trial looked at the effect of acupuncture on insomnia, focussing on quality of sleep. This trial was small (180 patients) but had a great design, comparing true acupuncture (points selected to treat insomnia) with sham acupuncture (points that don’t actually treat insomnia) and a commonly used sedative as control measures. This was done to make sure that any effect of the acupuncture treatment was not just due to being paid attention by the practitioner, or relaxing in the treatment room, or some other aspect of the treatment not actually related to needling specific acupuncture points.

After 6 weeks of treatment, those in the true acupuncture group rated their sleep quality as better than those in the sham acupuncture or sedative groups. They also reported less drowsiness and more energy in the daytime (in contrast to those on the sedative, who felt worse during the day even though their sleep improved). These improvements were maintained 2 months after the end of the treatment period.

Another couple of small trials looked at how acupuncture (or in one case, acupressure) works to help you sleep. They found that acupuncture or acupressure tended to normalise the levels of melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. This is very intriguing; and hopefully larger studies will explore this area in the future to verify the results.

The bottom line? Acupuncture can be a long-lasting remedy for insomnia, giving you better sleep quality without that hung-over feeling from sedatives.

 

Some tips to help you sleep.

  • Avoid caffeine after 4pm, or noon if you are sensitive to it. Remember that chocolate and green tea also contain small amounts of caffeine that can be too stimulating for some people. Many “energy drinks” contain a lot of caffeine too.
  • Try to get up at around the same time each day and go to bed at the same time each night. This gets your body into a regular pattern, so that the sleep hormone, melatonin, is being produced right when it’s needed.
  • Aim for a short walk in sunlight (about 20 mins without sunglasses if you can tolerate it) first thing in the morning. A surge in melatonin (which promotes sleepiness) happens about 12 hours after this first exposure to sunlight, so this is another measure that can help reset your sleep clock.
  • For at least an hour before bed, limit your use of TV, internet, mobile phones and other electronic devices, which tend to stimulate the brain. For some people who are sensitive, 2 hours may be better.
  • If you can’t sleep after 30 mins, go and do something that’s not very interesting for 10-20 mins in low light, then try again. Avoid TV etc, for the reasons given above.
  • Acupressure (applying pressure to acupuncture points) can help. Run your fingers outwards from the back of the neck at the base of the skull, till you reach a sore point behind the ear (but still under the skull). This is the An Mian (peaceful sleep point). Massage this area with firm pressure. The other point to apply pressure to is Kidney 1, which is on the sole of the foot, about 1/3 of the way down from where the toes join the sole of the foot. When you bend your foot downwards, you can feel a depression here, which may also feel quite tender.

 

Healing from your kitchen – Ginger soak/poultice for injuries and pain.

acupuncture gingerApart from having Acupuncture, people often want to know what they can do themselves to aid recovery from injuries, loosen tight muscles, or ease the pain of arthritis.

The answer is to raid your kitchen (or the local supermarket) for some ginger. This is the basis of a handy DIY external treatment that has excellent anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxant effects. It also acts as a mild irritant to the skin, increasing blood flow and mobilising the body’s own healing mechanisms.

I have used ginger soaks and poultices (medicated bandages) successfully for knee pain from osteoarthritis, low back pain, finger injuries, and thumb/wrist pain as part of an overuse syndrome.

If you’re thinking about using these techniques for arthritis, be aware that they are not suitable for rheumatoid or any other condition where the joints are hot and swollen. Also avoid using them if the skin is broken.

 

You’ll need:

  • A bit of fresh ginger roughly half as big as your thumb.
  • 2 saucepans or large bowls. If you are going to use it for soaking (best for the fingers, wrists, feet, or ankles), the bowl or pan needs to be deep enough to immerse the injury.
  • A cheese grater
  • A sieve
  • A small hand towel or flannel and a large towel to protect clothing, the sofa etc.

 

What to do:

Grate up the ginger and put it in a bowl or saucepan. Add boiling water and let the ginger steep for 10 mins. At the end of this time, add some cold water so that the temperature is hot but not intolerable. Strain into another bowl or pan to remove the grated bits of ginger (this is optional, but makes it less messy!).

For a soak, immerse the affected area for 10-20 mins. Periodically add more hot water so that the water temperature stays hot.

For a poultice, soak the flannel in the ginger solution, wring out slightly, fold into a pad and then apply it to the area. It usually feels best with a bit of pressure.

This works well for many injuries, but sometimes a stronger version is needed. This should not be used if you have sensitive skin. For this version, you grate up a bit more ginger – enough to cover the area. Put this directly on the skin and cover with a flannel soaked in hot water, and then wrap with cling film. It will usually start to feel quite hot after 10 mins or so – remove the ginger at this stage.

Local reactions to the ginger (like long-lasting redness or blistering) are rare, but if this occurs, do not use again.

Best results are achieved if you use these ginger treatments daily until the pain subsides. For stubborn conditions not relieved by ginger poultices and soaks, it is best to come in for assessment and treatment, as Acupuncture can be very beneficial for these conditions.

 

Acupuncture and Later Pregnancy & Birth Preparation

Sacupuncture and pregnancyo you’re counting down the months (or even weeks or days) till you can meet the newest member of your family. This time should be all about nesting and preparing, but that’s hard to do if you are feeling exhausted by some of the conditions that can arise in late pregnancy. When these problems are severe, they can really detract from the experience of being pregnant. Issues that tend to flare up at this stage of the pregnancy include:

  • Swollen ankles, fingers and wrists (can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome)
  • Iron-deficiency anaemia
  • Indigestion, acid reflux
  • Varicose veins
  • Haemorrhoids
  • Back pain, sciatica, as baby’s head presses on the nerves exiting the spinal column
  • Pubic symphysitis
  • Insomnia

 

Easing late pregnancy complaints with Acupuncture.

Thankfully, most of these issues tend to respond well to Acupuncture. You’ve probably already heard of the benefits of Acupuncture in back pain and sciatica, as well as aches and pains like carpal tunnel syndrome. I also use specific Acupuncture points to reduce water retention and aid fluid metabolism, improve indigestion, and ease the discomfort associated with swollen veins and haemorrhoids. Other points can help you sleep or to help nourish the blood (to combat anaemia). These are combined with points selected for your individual constitution and any other symptoms you might be experiencing. The overall result is a very relaxing experience that should help settle your discomfort and support you as your pregnancy advances.

I find that with some of these conditions, especially pubic symphysitis, but also back pain and sciatica, the best results are achieved with a combination of Acupuncture and Chiropractic.

Other issues in late pregnancy that are less common include:

  • Breech baby (head-up rather than the normal head-down position), and other positions not ideal for labour, such as posterior.
  • High blood pressure (pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-eclampsia),
  • High blood sugar levels (gestational diabetes)
  • Complications of pregnancy like a low-lying placenta (placenta praevia).

Let’s look at how Acupuncture can help these complications.

 

Breech and other positions not ideal for labour.

If your baby is in breech position, its bottom or feet would be delivered first if you went into labour. Some obstetricians are confident in delivering breech babies. But because complications can occur, most will attempt to physically turn the baby (external cephalic version) if this is possible. If it doesn’t work, the usual advice is to have a Caesarean section, but this is not without its risks and complications. Apart from issues with labour, a prolonged period in some types of breech position can also lead to problems with baby’s hips after birth.

Luckily, there is an alternative. At around 33-34 weeks, Acupuncturists use a specific point on the big toe, which is not needled but instead heated with moxa (a processed form of the herb Artemisia or Mugwort). You continue this treatment at home for 1-2 weeks. The moxibustion stimulates fetal movement, encouraging the baby to move itself into the normal head-down position. This form of treatment has been evaluated by research — it led to the baby turning in about 75% of cases (as a comparison, less than 50% of babies turned by themselves in women who did not have moxibustion treatment). No harmful effects were noted. There is another advantage of this approach. Because we are intervening relatively early in the pregnancy (compared with an external cephalic version at 37-38 weeks), if the moxibustion is successful, the baby is in the breech position for a shorter period, so we’d anticipate less chance of damage to the hips.

The best position for the baby to be born in is head-down, with the chin tucked right down into the chest, and in the head in the anterior position. This means that the back of baby’s head is directly under your pubic bone. This makes for a smoother birth. It is also more efficient, meaning you won’t get as tired during labour because the baby is already lined up correctly. Some babies don’t naturally adopt this position, but instead have their heads the other way up so that their forehead is directly below your pubic bone. This can lead to a longer, more tiring labour, with a lot of back pain, as the baby rotates into the anterior position (this does not always happen – the baby can be born in the posterior position, but this is not common).

We use a similar moxibustion technique if the baby is posterior, coupled with exercises to try and get gravity to work in your favour in encouraging baby to turn anterior.

In the following conditions, acupuncturists working with pregnant women have observed improvement in response to Acupuncture. However, little research has been done to back this up.

 

High blood pressure.

Your midwife or Obstetrician will be keeping a close eye on your blood pressure, because occasionally pregnant women develop a condition where the blood pressure rises out of control (and other problems develop). This is called pre-eclampsia and poses risks to the health of yourself and the baby.

While women with severe pre-eclampsia need to be hospitalised for monitoring and treatment, Acupuncture can be useful if there is just a mild increase in blood pressure. It can also help reduce the water retention that can also happen with this condition. Generally, the sooner treatment begins the more likely it is to have results. Of course, ongoing monitoring by your obstetric team is very important.

 

Gestational diabetes.

It’s normal for blood sugar (glucose) levels to rise slightly in pregnancy, but in some women this happens to the extent that diabetes develops. When severe, this can have complications. The concept of diabetes was recognised by the ancient Chinese, and several Acupuncture points have been proven to promote glucose metabolism and pancreatic function. By using these points, plus others for general wellbeing and the stage of pregnancy, we hope to help normalise glucose levels.

 

Low-lying placenta.

If your placenta is too low in the uterus, this can cause problems with bleeding later in pregnancy. In severe cases, a vaginal birth is not possible as the placenta obstructs the cervix. This condition often resolves by itself as the uterus enlarges and the placenta naturally rises away from the cervix. But in cases where it does not, we can add in Acupuncture points that have a lifting action according to Chinese Medical theory.

 

Pre-birth treatment – preparing for labour.

So you’re in the final weeks and no doubt you’ll be thinking about how to ease your passage through labour. Birth preparation Acupuncture is becoming increasingly popular since research has shown its effectiveness. One New Zealand study found that, overall, women who had birth preparation Acupuncture were 35% less likely to need their labour to be medically induced (43% less likely for women having their first baby). Women having these treatments also had a 31% reduction in epidural use.

I prefer to do weekly treatments from about 35 weeks, as the best effects are achieved when you have 4 treatments or more. In these sessions, we gently prepare your body for labour with specific points that act on the cervix and uterus. We also cover acupressure techniques for you or your support person to use during labour that can help you deal with the contractions and help the cervix dilate.

 

Inducing labour.

There’s no doubt that it’s best for your body to go into labour by itself. We don’t really understand the interplay between the mother and baby that sets off labour, and it’s likely to be complex and involve a cascade of factors. But sometimes, when the pregnancy goes more than a week – 10 days over the due date, then it’s wise to start weighing up the risks and working out a plan of action. In these cases, or when the Obstetrician wants to induce labour for medical reasons, Acupuncture can be very useful in kick-starting the process and potentially avoiding a medical induction. Feedback from midwives in New Zealand who started using Acupuncture in inductions has generally been positive, although the research is certainly not conclusive. In these circumstances, we stimulate points traditionally used to bring on labour, and do several treatments close together, ideally every couple of days.

So enjoy the last months and weeks of your pregnancy, and don’t forget that Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be great after the birth for promoting healing and dealing with breastfeeding issues like mastitis.

 

Acupuncture in Pregnancy

acupuncture and pregnancyAcupuncture is very useful in pregnancy, from alleviating exhaustion and morning sickness in the early weeks to bringing relief from back pain, haemorrhoids and indigestion later in pregnancy. It can even help a breech baby turn head down!

As you approach your due date (from about 35 weeks), we recommend a weekly program of “pre-birth” acupuncture to prepare for labour. Women who have this sort of acupuncture program are less likely to need interventions during labour than those who don’t.

Here are some of the pregnancy-related issues our Acupuncturists use Acupuncture to help with:

  • Morning sickness
  • Tiredness/exhaustion
  • Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Swollen ankles and fingers
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Indigestion, acid reflux
  • Pelvic pain
  • Sciatica and low back pain
  • Breech baby and other malpositions
  • High blood pressure
  • Induction of labour (in some circumstances)

Plus the benefits of Acupuncture extend to helping with recovery from labour, promoting the flow of breast milk and treating mastitis.

Chinese herbal medicine is also helpful during pregnancy, with several thousands of years of safe use in pregnant women

Our Acupuncturists are experienced in working with women at all stages of pregnancy and in the post-birth period. Health-fund rebates are available for Acupuncture treatments.

 

Acupuncture for Fertility

acupuncture fertilityIf you’re having fertility issues, we recommend you seriously look into having Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. Many conditions reducing fertility can be helped with this combination of treatments. These include:

  • Endometriosis
  • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
  • Unexplained infertility
  • Male fertility issues

If you are thinking about starting a family (or adding to it!), our Acupuncturists recommend a 3 month pre-conception programme of Acupuncture (with Chinese Herbal Medicine if required). This allows us to find the root cause of any issues and get you in the healthiest possible state to conceive.

For those with known fertility problems, or those needing assisted reproduction techniques like IVF, Acupuncture really comes into its own. It is very useful in maximising your response to treatment and coping with the stress associated with these procedures. For IVF, there are key times in the cycle that it’s important to have acupuncture treatment for the best results.

Our Acupuncturists are experienced in helping couples boost their fertility naturally, and in working in with an IVF regime. Health-fund rebates are available for Acupuncture treatments.