Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese healing procedure that uses vey fine needles introduced at points in the body called acupuncture points or acupoints to innervate the nervous system to release natural chemicals that relieve pain and assist the body to heal itself.  No one knows how acupuncture developed but it is known that it was first used, originated and developed in China.  Acupuncture is popularly known all over the world.  Western countries like Italy, Germany and the United States as well most south Asian countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have a lot of acupuncture practitioners.  This unique modality is used to treat several types of disorders including infertility.  In fact, acupuncture has been used for many years now as an effective tool for treating infertility conditions either on its own or combined with other alternative and conventional modalities for other reproductive assisted programs.  A number of fertility and reproductive-assisted programs are quite invasive and stressful which lowers the chance of achieving pregnancy.  Acupuncture helps lessen stress in the body by relaxing the patient and improves blood flow particularly to the reproductive organs.  These effects enable women to cope with the trauma involved in the distressful and invasive fertility and reproductive-assisted programs to better the chance of a successful conception.

Acupuncture helps the body to release natural “feel-good” chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins to ease pain and stress in the body.  Thus acupuncture not only removes discomfort and pain and distress but also helps calm and relax the mind.  It also assists in regulating body functions particularly the one regarding the function of the endocrine system.  An endocrine system functioning well will lead to a normal hormone function, which is needed for fertility.  Acupuncture for the treatment of infertility does not only apply for females.  Acupuncture can repair low sperm production and improve sperm motility.  Men suffering from erectile dysfunction can also look forward to having their problem resolved with acupuncture.  Research done for the treatment of infertility has showed increased sperm production of male patients given acupuncture compared to those not given this treatment.  A lot of people have this misconception that acupuncture treatment itself is painful.

A patient normally feels a slight sensation during acupuncture treatment when the needles are inserted into the body.  This sensation immediately goes away and is replaced by a feeling of calmness and tranquility when the needle’s effect sets in.

A patient suffering from infertility wishing to try out acupuncture for his problem should first go to a fertility clinic for referrals for skilled and experienced acupuncturists who specialize in infertility cases.  A lot of these clinics offer acupuncture treatment as well with a resident acupuncturist to handle treatments.  One can also search for a good acupuncturist online and make sure they specialize in infertility cases.