Acupuncture is the medicinal technique coming from the traditionalChinese medicine (TCM). TCM says that there is the energy flow in the body,called qi (or chi) which is the vital force of the body. If the energy flow getsimbalanced, our body will suffer from a certain illness or disorder. The energyflows through the 14 Meridians (lines or channels) on the body, and by treatingthem with the thin needles one will improve the chi flow and also alleviate allproblems it has caused.
The acupuncturist practitioner will insert these very thinneedles into the certain spots of the body on the Meridians or near the propermeridians and amend the flow of the energy.
Acupuncture is considered to be generally harmless and withoutmany side effects. It has proven to lower the stress, promote relaxation and raisethe level of the “happy, feeling-good” hormone (endorphins).
Treating Fertility with Acupuncture
In TCM infertility is also thought to be caused by theimpairment of the energy flow and therefore there are people using acupunctureto solve this problem. Since so many people are talking about the acupuncture, manythink that there are real proofs that acupuncture works, but this is not thecase.
Think again – if the acupuncture works, why there are nomore doctors recommending it to the patients? The reason is simple – because thereare no such scientific studies and conclusive information about the benefits ofacupuncture. There are no medical experts that will suggest the use ofuncertain methods to their patients, especially in such specific condition asthe infertility treatment. Not a single doctor wants to disappoint people orgive them false hope.
Most performed studies included small groups of patients andtherefore are not medically (and scientifically) valid. Also, there were neverstudies that followed the rules of double blind, randomized trials, which is necessaryto prove or reject some medications and medical techniques.
Some claim that the relaxation and stress relief acupuncturebrings might be enough to use it, but there are other, much less expensiveoptions to relax. Basic relaxation, meditation or yoga will have the sameresult for just a part of the cost of acupuncture.
Inconclusive Results
However, no matter how non-scientific, there were somestudies about the use of acupuncture in infertility treatment. In most cases, they have inconclusive results, but there were women who got pregnant using theacupuncture along the IVF and IUI conventional fertility treatments.
According to these researches acupuncture might increase thenumber of follicles and blood flow to the uterus, regulate the hormones andirregular cycles in the body and help solve thyroid problems (that might alsocause infertility). In men, acupuncture could enhance the counts and quality ofthe sperm.
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