Endometriosis Case Study 2

A 37-year-old woman was referred to our clinic by her OB-GYN to see if acupuncture could help relieve her painful periods. She had been diagnosed with endometriosis the previous year and was struggling with debilitating abdominal pain. This endometriosis case review describes how acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine helped reduce her pain by 80 percent.

What is Endometriosis?

Wikipedia describes the condition in the following way:

Endometriosis is a disease of the female reproductive system in which cells similar to the layer of tissue covering the inside of the uterus grow outside the uterus. This is often on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and tissue around the uterus and ovaries; however, it may also occur in other parts of the body in rare cases. Some symptoms include pelvic pain, heavy periods, pain with bowel movements, and infertility. Nearly half of those affected have chronic pelvic pain, while 70% have pain during menstruation. Pain during sexual intercourse is also common. Infertility occurs in up to half of affected individuals. About 25% of individuals have no symptoms, and 85% of those seen with infertility in a tertiary center have no pain. Endometriosis can have both social and psychological effects.

Chinese Medicine View of Endometriosis

This condition falls under the differential diagnosis of painful periods due to blood stasis. Blood stagnation produces severe pain characterized by sharp, stabbing discomfort. The treatment protocol is to invigorate the blood, thereby reducing pain. Endometriosis is one form of blood stasis. Other Western diagnoses that can involve blood stagnation include:

Pelvic inflammatory disease
Inflammatory bowel disease
Ovarian cysts
Fibromyalgia
Interstitial cystitis
Adenomyosis
Uterine fibroids
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Acupuncture Relieves Endometriosis

Regardless of the diagnosis, acupuncture treats blood stasis by building and invigorating the blood. We help the body build blood because many women who suffer from these stagnation issues are blood deficient. For example, it is common for women with endometriosis and uterine fibroids to have extremely heavy periods, bleeding for seven or more days each month. This was the situation in the endometriosis case review below. Such heavy bleeding will typically cause blood deficiency, if not anemia. Acupoints SP6, ST36, CV12, and CV6 generate blood in the body.

Acupuncture also helps circulate the blood, specifically in the areas of pain. For example, endometriosis patients experience blood accumulation in the low abdomen, on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and tissue outside the uterus. Acupuncture points like SP10, CV4, and ST28 invigorate the blood, improving circulation in the abdomen and reducing pain.

Endometriosis Case Review

Our 37-year-old patient was bleeding heavily for seven days during her periods, with sharp, stabbing cramping pain. Her tongue had purple spots, confirming blood stasis, and her pulse was tight, indicating the high levels of pain she was feeling. Our treatment plan included building and invigorating her blood, strengthening her spleen qi (the source of blood), and smoothing her liver qi (reducing stress in her body). Acupuncture points included SP6, SP10, LV3, LV8, Li4, Li11, CV4, ST28, GV20, and Yintang. In addition, we prescribed the Chinese herbal formula Tao Hong Si Wu Pian to help resolve blood stasis and ease the pain.

After four treatments, her pain levels decreased by 30 percent. She was amazed at the improvement and felt encouraged that acupuncture would truly heal her condition. After another four sessions, she felt 50 percent less pain during her periods. In addition, she was bleeding much less heavily, with three heavy days instead of seven. She had the best period in years following her twelfth visit, with 70 percent less pain and only two heavy flow days.

These improvements came directly from the acupuncture and herbs she was receiving and enabled her body to heal itself by building and circulating blood in her uterus and low abdomen. Since her treatments made changes at the organ level, the improvements she attained were long-lasting.

Next Steps

If you or a loved one is struggling with endometriosis, try acupuncture. Treatments are safe – all needles are sterile, single-use, and hair-thin. The results we obtained in this endometriosis case review are typical – most women experience relief with acupuncture.

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