The Evidence-based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine journal published a study that demonstrated acupuncture’s tremendous beneficial effects when administered to patients suffering from dysmenorrhea who did not respond to Western modes of treatment. Manifesting as painful menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea can either be primary or secondary. The former means the dysmenorrhea is without proven pelvic causation/pathology, while the latter means there is cramping caused by an identified pelvic pathology. Both types have a common symptom of pain that in a quarter of all cases cannot be relieved by NSAID medications.
The study included participants all with either moderate to severe dysmenorrhea lasting at least a year that cannot be treated with NSAID drugs. All the participants did not undergo oral contraceptive treatment, which is usually the first treatment given by doctors for dysmenorrhea patients. The subjects were treated with acupuncture treatments each week for eight weeks, with needles stuck in specific acupoints for half an hour.
In the study 13 of the 15 patients treated with acupuncture manifested a significant decrease in NSAID usage and pain after being treated with acupuncture. Patients with primary dysmenorrhea showed greater reduction of pain than those with secondary dysmenorrhea. The total stoppage of NSAID use was achieved by 7 of the 15 patients and they remained free of symptoms 6 months after the end of the treatments.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognizes acupuncture as a valid mode of treatment for the relief of pain as well as for several health conditions including dysmenorrhea. Some of the most attractive features of this treatment are that it is extremely safe, non-invasive, and practically free of side effects. Cleveland Acupuncture practitioners believe that when an acupuncture needle is inserted into the body, it leads to an increase in blood circulation to the affected part of the body.
Acupuncture treatment is oftentimes combined with Chinese herbal medicine to enhance the effect. The Chinese herbal formula known as gui zhi fu ling is one of the most commonly prescribed formulas for primary dysmenorrhea patients although for each individual patient’s exact signs and symptoms, the proper Chinese herbal formula must be selected. Gui zhi fu ling is made up of five Chinese herbs that includes peach kernel, moutan root bark, peony root, poria, and cinnamon twig. In traditional Chinese medicine all these herbs have powerful circulating or invigorating quality of the blood, and they help relieve pain by clearing out stagnations and blockages in the body. This herbal remedy is also effective in treating ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids.
The above mentioned study concluded y saying that acupuncture can be a valid treatment for dysmenorrheal pain, more so for people who cannot take NSAIDs or oral contraceptives. This jibes with the results of clinical studies that have been reported by many acupuncture clinics.