Chinese medicine to address endometriosis,

Acupuncture treatment for Endometriosis — **Endometriosis**

The Rozelle Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine (RACM), understands your concerns about endometriosis, fertility, pain, and your future. We offer insight, assessment, and treatment using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theories of ‘patterns of disharmony.’

Our goal is to alleviate symptoms, help you understand why endometriosis develops, and plan strategies to prevent its reoccurrence. There is promising clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture in treating endometriosis (Ding and Lian, 2015; Flower et al., 2012; Brown and Farquhar, 2014).

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis occurs when endometrial tissue grows outside the uterus. It is a common condition, affecting 10% of women and 40% of women with infertility.

Causes of Endometriosis

There are various theories about what causes endometriosis. According to the ‘transplantation theory,’ cells from the uterine lining migrate to other parts of the body. These cells, called endometrial implants, can travel through the bloodstream or menstrual blood.

Each month, these implants respond to hormonal changes, building up and shedding. However, the tissue and blood cannot exit through the vagina, causing inflammation. This inflammation may lead to scar tissue and adhesions.

Biomedicine doesn’t fully understand why these cells grow outside the uterus in some women. Experts believe a combination of factors, such as hormonal imbalances and immune system issues, may contribute.

Chinese Medicine Perspective

According to Chinese medicine, endometriosis is due to blood flow stagnation in the pelvis. The liver, spleen, and kidney meridians pass through the pelvis, and imbalances in these meridians may disrupt blood flow. TCM identifies multiple causes and risk factors, which must be addressed to treat endometriosis effectively.

Symptoms of Endometriosis

Symptoms vary but may include painful periods (dysmenorrhea), pain during intercourse (dyspareunia), and painful urination (dysuria). Around 70% of women experience severe pelvic pain, but some remain symptom-free. The severity of symptoms often depends on the location of the endometrial tissue.

Some women discover they have endometriosis only when struggling to conceive or undergoing surgery for another reason.

Diagnosing Endometriosis

Several tests can indicate and help diagnose endometriosis:

Clinical Examination: A pelvic exam can reveal local tenderness or nodules.
Blood Test: An elevated CA-125 protein can help diagnose the disease but is less reliable in early stages.
Ultrasound: Transvaginal ultrasound can now detect deep infiltrating endometriosis accurately.
Laparoscopy: This surgical procedure confirms the diagnosis by removing and testing suspected tissue.

Treatment Options

Medication options include painkillers and hormone therapy. Painkillers relieve symptoms, while hormone treatments aim to slow the growth of endometrial implants. Hormone therapies include progestins, oral contraceptives, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists. Laparoscopic surgery can remove visible endometrial tissue, but the cells often return.

Laparoscopic surgery can often relieve the terrible pain and heavy bleeding many women experience, however, the endometrial cells soon return and the process begins again.

Chinese Medicine Treatment

In China, treating endometriosis with Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is common. Research suggests that CHM can alleviate pain, prevent relapses, and improve fertility. Our team uses acupuncture, CHM, supplements, and diet therapy to reduce symptoms and control endometrial growth.

We aim to reduce fatigue, emotional distress, pain, heavy bleeding, and hormonal imbalance. Using TCM theories, we assess your overall health and well-being to prevent the reoccurrence of the disease. Evidence supports acupuncture as a treatment for endometriosis. A 2012 Cochrane Review found that CHM, administered after surgery, may be as effective as hormone therapy with fewer side effects.

Endometriosis