It is estimated that as few as 2% or as many as 20% of women living in the United States suffer from a condition known as endometriosis. About 40% to 60% of these women also experience painful periods (dysmenorrhea) along with their endometriosis.

When a woman suffers from endometriosis, her endometrial tissue develops outside of her uterus resulting in pain, inflammation, and bleeding. There are women with endometriosis who do not even know they have this condition, or, at least may manifest scanty symptoms of this condition. Other sufferers, however, may experience fertility problems, heavy bleeding, mild to severe painful sex, and pain.

Some of the modalities used by Western conventional medicine include laparoscopy, hormone therapies, and medications such as NSAIDs. Being a chronic condition, there is still no available cure for endometriosis. The problem is Western medicine’s available treatments for the management of pain and for the treatment of this disease is woefully inadequate.

Acupuncture and Endometriosis in Maitland

There was a study done in 2010 to test the potency of acupuncture against the symptoms of endometriosis. The study showed that women who were given 10 treatment sessions of acupuncture experienced a substantial decrease of their pain. Past studies also reveal that electro-acupuncture as well as Japanese style of acupuncture has been shown to alleviate dysmenorrhea induced by endometriosis. These two types of acupuncture have proven to be safe and effective adjunct therapies for pelvic pain associated with endometriosis.

Patients suffering from dysmenorrhea have also greatly benefited from acupuncture.

How Acupuncture works in treating endometriosis symptoms

Endometriosis, according to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), is mainly the result of Blood Stagnation coupled with certain complications such as Qi deficiency, Cold, Heat and other pathologies.

The goal of acupuncture therapy is to normalize the menstrual cycle, resolve Blood Stagnation, and relieve the pain.

The woman’s cycle is taken into consideration during treatment; a unique kind of treatment will be applied depending on what stage of the menstrual cycle the woman is in.

Acupuncture is a holistic type of treatment. This means the aim of the treatment is to treat the whole person. A customized plan of treatment will be concocted by the acupuncturist to address the underlying imbalances as well as the symptoms of the patient.

How long the treatment will take depends on the severity of the condition. Each case is unique and so even if two patients suffer from the same condition they will each receive a different type of treatment that specifically addresses their needs. In the treatment of endometriosis, the length of treatment may last for as short as three months to as long as 9 months, at least.