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Infertility is defined as one year of unprotected intercourse which does not result in conception. Approximately 2.6 million American couples suffer from infertility. The cause of infertility may stem from either partner. Approximately 60% of infertility cases are due to female conditions, while 40% are due to male conditions. In either case, it can be extremely heartbreaking. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers hope to the couple by establishing harmony within the entire body.
The benefits of acupuncture and TCM for the treatment of infertility can be found in early Chinese medicine literature dating back to 11 AD. Not only does TCM improve the probability of becoming pregnant and having a healthier baby, it also serves to enhance the function of the whole body. This holistic approach provides the key to unlocking unlimited potential in healing. This is especially important for people who are over age 40, as it stimulates overall health, which in turn, affects their reproductive system.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we believe conception will occur when Kidney Jing (Tian Kui) is abundant and strong, when Yin, Yang, Qi, and Blood in the channels are harmonized, and when there is a peaceful Shen (spirit). Together, these aspects are the foundation of overall health and the root of conception.
The causes of infertility are many: endometriosis, ovulation problems, tubal factor, hormonal imbalance, unexplained infertility, male factor, poor ovarian reserve function, poor egg quality, premature ovarian failure (POF), luteal phase defect, habitual miscarriage, thin endometrium, irregular period, amenorrhea, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), abnormally shaped uterus, immunological infertility, etc. These causes can be determined by a Western medical reproductive work-up. Western medical methods for treating infertility are highly technical and expensive, and recent reports indicate a relatively low success rate. Because of this, alternative methods, such as TCM and acupuncture, are increasing in popularity.
A recent study published in Fertility and Sterility found that using acupuncture with In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) achieved a 42% clinical pregnancy rate compared to 26% in a control group that did not receive acupuncture. This study involved giving acupuncture for just one day shortly before and after the transfer of the embryos. Clinically, this rate increased to 60% when using a broader support of both Chinese herbs and acupuncture in preparation before, during, and after IVF.
At the Traditional Chinese Medicine Healing Center, we specialize in the treatment of reproductive enhancement and recognize that every person and couple having difficulty conceiving need individualized treatment. We thoroughly examine your overall health to pinpoint where imbalances are, then develop a treatment plan that is appropriate for you. For best results most couples have greater success using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine before attempting more technically advanced methods such as medications, intrauterine insemination (IUI), and IVF. This is mainly due to the notion that good health is a fundamental precursor to conception. However, in certain cases of infertility, especially in women with disruption affecting both fallopian tubes, assisted reproductive technology (ART), such as IVF, should be the primary treatment, with acupuncture as a support.
In general, women are recommended to implement acupuncture and herbal medicine for at least 3-6 months before considering more high risk, toxic, invasive and expensive ART techniques. Women often feel that they need to do as much as medically possible, often due to a sense of time running out from aging. Actually, the majority of women are able to respond to TCM / acupuncture treatment without the need of powerful drugs, often resulting in an easier pregnancy and healthier baby. Trying TCM / Acupuncture as a primary step is strongly recommended and extremely successful.
In cases of male factor infertility, only a small percentage of cases can be attributed to a treatable condition, and most infertile men are not given a definitive diagnosis in Western Medicine. TCM and acupuncture can greatly improve male factor infertility, including semen quality, which will dramatically improve your chances of natural pregnancy or increase the success rate of IUI or IVF.
We believe the reason for the significantly higher success rate in our clinic with couples who use only acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is because the holistic treatment completely balances the body’s energy flow, balances the hormonal system, and encourages the body to do what it wants to do naturally – conceive.
Our treatment plans will focus on the following:
Women’s health is greatly impacted by even subtle imbalances in hormones. Hormones are substances that are released by the brain and other organs and flow through the blood stream acting as chemical messengers. When hormone levels are healthy, we are unaware of their pervasive and important role in our lives, but when these vital chemical messengers become imbalanced, our well-being and health can be greatly impacted.
The following symptoms are associated with a woman’s hormonal fluctuations in a monthly menstrual cycle or aging process and can often be addressed by Chinese Medicine:
During each stage of a woman’s life, beginning with puberty, the cyclical fluctuation of progesterone and estrogen sets into motion a series of physiological responses. Erratic shifts in the estrogen/progesterone balance during one’s teenage years may show up as acne, mood swings, irregular menses, painful periods (dysmenorrhea), body aches, rashes, etc. From a traditional Chinese medical view, these symptoms occur because kidney qi is not abundant and liver blood is not flowing smoothly. Smoothing out these erratic hormonal shifts by nourishing kidney qi and improving the flow of liver blood can prevent many of these conditions from occurring. Furthermore, creating a healthy foundation during the teenage years can prevent hormonal related problems later in life.
Women are normally at the peak of their health during the reproductive years. The body prepares every month for the possibility of becoming pregnant. If a woman does not conceive, her uterine lining sloughs off, then menstruation occurs. However, if our bodies are stressed, undernourished, or lacking in sleep, the delicate balance of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian feedback loop can lead to symptoms of hormonal imbalance such as moodiness, PMS, migraines, breast tenderness, decreasing attention span, bloating and weight gain. These imbalances in energy and hormones can also lead to the heart-wrenching problems of infertility and postpartum depression. Chinese medicine balances the entire body function to improve both men and women’s ability to conceive. It is a particularly powerful option for women over forty, who need to be strengthened as well as balanced.
Infertility is an enormous concern in the field of gynecology. Drs. Shiao-Ting Jing, Florence Lim,and Biao Lu work together to enhance fertility outcomes for their patients and have had an excellent success rate addressing infertility, either in conjunction with Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) or with Chinese medicine alone. We always recommend that couples undergo a complete Western medical reproductive evaluation to determine the cause of their infertility. We understand that Western medical methods of treating infertility are highly technical, quite expensive, and often limited to women whose ovaries are responsive to treatment and whose hormone levels fall within a certain range. Nevertheless, these methods are often a beacon of hope to many couples who are told they cannot conceive naturally. Recent reports by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that the overall success rate of ART is still low when used alone. When combined with acupuncture and herbal medicine therapy, however, the chance of success greatly improves.
Chinese medicine can also help women who have experienced difficulties maintaining a pregnancy or carrying a healthy baby to term. Repeated pregnancy loss (habitual abortion) is considered a type of infertility. Chinese medicine is very effective in protecting against miscarriage.
In addition, Chinese medicine has a long tradition of helping women recover gracefully from pregnancy. It is a very effective way to reset the body and prevent or alleviate postpartum discomforts such as fatigue, night sweats, hair loss, joint pain, and depression.
Additional shifts in a woman’s physiology occur during the perimenopausal years. Menopause is a gradual physiological process - a natural life transition. A woman is born with roughly 600,000 follicles. By the time she reaches puberty, she has only 300,000. The number of follicles decreases to about 10,000 by the time she experiences menopause. The experience of menopause is predicated on the health of the woman up to that point in her life. It is quite possible to achieve a later menopause with few symptoms.
Unfortunately, if a woman previously experienced problems related to hormonal imbalance during the course of her reproductive years, she may continue to experience disruptive symptoms as the body shifts into this new stage of life. These symptoms may include acne, sleep disorders (such as frequent waking), migraines, hair loss, hot flashes, mood swings, bloating, weight gain, digestive problems, decline in libido, and high cholesterol.
Because peri-menopause and menopause are a natural transition, it is not necessary for every woman to use hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Instead, the body can be gently induced to produce a more balanced mixture of hormones through the use of Chinese herbal formulas and acupuncture without the health risks associated with HRT. These natural therapies establish a healthy foundation for permanent results and future well-being. Additionally, if a woman and her M.D. decide that HRT is the best choice, then Chinese medicine is a powerful tool to optimize the body’s ability to integrate the HRT and minimize any side effects.
There have been extensive studies conducted on acupuncture, especially for back and neck pain, osteoarthritis/knee pain, and headache. Research indicates that acupuncture can help manage almost all types of pain conditions.
What the Science Says About the Effectiveness of Acupuncture
Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. It is also able to help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches. Therefore, acupuncture is generally a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider.
Most common acute and chronic pain symptoms treated are:
· Headache and Migraine
· Back Pain
· Muscular injury
· Fibromyalgia
· Sciatica nerve pain
· Osteoarthritis and joint pains
· Chronic pain and stiffness in neck, shoulder, arms, back, hip, knees, feet, etc
· Bone spurs
· Pain from stomach, colon and other digestive organ
Shingles
At our clinic, we apply acupuncture and other TCM techniques as needed for addressing pain problems. For certain types of pain conditions, herbal medicine may be a better treatment option.
Mental health disorders are very common in the United States. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been shown to be helpful for people who suffer from mental health disorder such as anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, addiction, pain, headache etc.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) states “evidence for the use of acupuncture . . . to treat anxiety disorders is becoming stronger.” Additionally, both academic research and clinical results show that it can be an effective treatment for mental disorders and has a protective effect against the stress response that people experience every day in going about their lives.
Western medicine has shown that acupuncture releases endorphins and natural painkillers and affects other biological functions as well. TCM sees acupuncture as a way for improving functioning by correcting blockages or imbalances in the organs.
According to a 2018 report by the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, acupuncture has become more acceptable and popular for treating mental disorders in the U.S.
In comparison to anti-depressant medication, acupuncture is generally considered a safe complementary health approach with no side effects when performed by an experienced practitioner using sterile needles.
In our clinic, our practitioner will listen and talk to the patient, carefully taking a history and performing an examination to establish a diagnosis and design a unique treatment plan for each patient. The treatment plan will address both symptoms and pattern of unbalances in the body, which are causing problems. The acupuncturist inserts fine needles into certain points on the meridians that run throughout the body, thereby correcting blockings or imbalance in organs.
TCM practitioners use a variety of techniques in an effort to promote health and treat disease. In the United States, one of the most commonly used approaches is Chinese herbal medicine. The Chinese Materia Medica (a pharmacological reference book used by TCM practitioners) describes thousands of medicinal substances—primarily plants, but also some minerals and animal products. Different parts of plants, such as the leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds, are used. In TCM, herbs are often combined in formulas and given as teas, capsules, liquid extracts, granules, or powders. Chinese herbal medicine can be used either on its own or as a complementary treatment.
The ancient beliefs on which TCM is based and that herbal medicine is prescribed include the following:
• The human body is a miniature version of the larger, surrounding universe.
• Harmony between two opposing yet complementary forces, called yin and yang, supports health, and disease results from an imbalance between these forces.
• Five elements—fire, earth, wood, metal, and water—symbolically represent all phenomena, including the stages of human life, and explain the functioning of the body and how it changes during disease.
• Qi, a vital energy that flows through the body, performs multiple functions in maintaining health.
Using the various TCM fundamentals noted previously, our licensed, experienced Herbalist will tailor an herbal prescription to treat your specific symptoms.
Following are a number of common conditions (not exhaustive) that TCM is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) for being effective at treating:
General diseases
Fatigue
Weight control
ADHD or ADD
Asthma
Dizziness
Cold hands or Feet
Neurological diseases
Stroke rehabilitation
Spinal cord injury
Spinal disc herniation
Facial paralysis
Trigeminal neuralgia,
Pareses following stroke,
Peripheral neuropathies,
Intercostal neuralgia,
Gastrointestinal disorders
Constipation
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Abdominal distention
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Belching
Hiccup
Vomiting
Gastritis,
Hyperacidity
Urogenital diseases
Abnormal urination
Nocturnal enuresis
Enlarged prostate
Drip after urination (Male & Female)
Bladder dysfunction
Sexual dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction
Impotence
Ophthalmology & Otorhinolaryngology
Eye floaters
Sinusitis
Tinnitus
Deafness
Feeling something stuck in throat
TMJ (Jaw joint pain)
Teeth grinding
Respiratory Disorders
Common cold
Tonsillitis
Sore throat
Hay fever
Bronchial Asthma
Gynecological diseases
Infertility
Heavy menstruation
Irregular menstruation
Painful menstruation
Amenorrhea
Morbid leukorrhea
Morning sickness
Insufficient lactation
Reproductive System Disorders
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Irregular Menses
Menstrual cramps
Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
Menopausal symptoms(MPS)
Morning sickness
Urinary incontinence
Impotence
Pediatric(Acupressure & Massage)
Asthma
Constipation & Diarrhea
Infantile malnutrition
Bed wetting
Night crying
ADHD or ADD
Night crying
ADHD or ADD
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