I specialise in acupuncture for women’s health issues . Acupuncture can be extremely successful in treating a whole range of issues, ranging from pre-menstrual tension, painful periods, infertility, and pregnancy right through to menopause.
Menstruation
Acupuncture can help improve your general menstrual health. Many girls and women suffer from pre-menstrual symptoms and painful, heavy, irregular periods and polycystic ovarian syndrome, (PCOS) which can result in their feeling unwell for a large amount of each month. Women are often prescribed the contraceptive pill to alleviate these symptoms. Chinese Medicine has a very different approach as it believes that it is important to treat the ‘root cause’ of the presenting symptoms. It does this by treating the major organs that Chinese Medicine believes influence the menstrual cycle – the kidneys, Liver, the Spleen and the Chong Mai (the Penetrating Vessel, that influences the supply and proper movement of blood in the uterus). Acupuncture treatments carried out at different phases of the menstrual cycle help to balance these organs and create a regular pain free cycle free from PMT and the need for medication.
Fertility
Acupuncture can often assist a woman or couple achieve a natural conception without recourse to assisted reproductive techniques. There are many and varied reasons why women fail to fall pregnant. Chinese Medicine considers that the Kidneys govern reproduction and their healthy function is vital for fertility as is the function of the Uterus and Ovaries. Amenorrhoea, polycistic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis are some of the more common causes of female infertility, and acupuncture has shown to be very effective in treating these conditions.
If a male partner has fertility issues e.g. low-sperm count, motility or morphology issues, I will advise that he should also seek treatment, so that both are in optimal health for conception to occur. For more information about natural fertility in Sussex, Brighton & Hove, click on the link.
Menopause
This should be a natural event in women’s middle years. But in the West, the menopause has increasingly been treated as a ‘disease’ that must be treated with HRT or other drugs. Acupuncture can alleviate/eliminate many of the common symptoms linked to menopause – hot flushes, night sweats, migraines, mood swings and depression. Some women may actively chose not to take HRT and search out a more natural route through the menopause; others may not be able to use HRT because of the medication they are taking due to breast cancer. Several research studies carried out over a number of years have shown the positive benefits of using acupuncture – in particular auricular (ear) acupuncture in alleviating hot flushes and night sweats. https://www.bsio.org.uk/blog/acupuncture-and-breast-cancer-treatment-related-hot-flushes
For all women’s’ health issues, alongside the acupuncture treatments I offer advice in relation to diet, Chinese herbs, lifestyle and exercise regimes to help obtain optimum health.