Irregular Menstrual Cycle - Can Acupuncture Regulate Your Menstrual Cycle?
Irregular menstrual cycles are a source of frustration and worry for many women.
If you are among them you know that having to deal with unexpected bleeding (often at the worst possible times) can be a huge headache.
Add to this worry over whether you will be able to become pregnant, should and when you desire to have children, and there can be a lot of emotional energy attached to this problem.
In this article we look at whether acupuncture can provide a drug-free, hormone-free, natural approach to treat this problem.
Sometimes an otherwise healthy woman has menstrual cycles which are scattered all over the calendar.
One month her period will be long, another month it will be short.
Sometimes she may skip a period entirely.
She may have light spotting a couple of times a month.
Serious menstrual cramping may be involved.
The Medical Approach The approach of "western medicine" to menstrual cycle regulation is typically a one-size-fits-all approach.
No matter what the menstrual irregularity the go-to approach is often hormone therapy, typically in the form of birth control pills.
The pills take over the job your body should naturally be performing in regulating the menstrual cycle.
The medical approach ignores the underlying cause of the irregular hormone levels the body is creating.
The problem may clear up on its own, or it may not.
With the pills masking the symptoms it is not possible to know either way.
Meanwhile a woman may experience side-effects from the pill such as weight gain, decreased sexual desire, mood changes, and increased risk of certain diseases.
The Acupuncture Approach Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine look at health a different way.
All disease, including irregular menstrual cycles, come from some form of functional imbalance.
This makes sense to most people immediately.
If the function of one or more systems in the body are insufficient, or are working overtime, true health will be elusive.
This understanding puts the one-size-fits-all approach into perspective.
One can create functional balance only by first understanding what is out of balance.
Here is where acupuncture really shines.
An acupuncturist will take time to understand exactly what is happening in the patient's body.
Only with a clear and correct understanding of the imbalance is there a hope to set things right and bring the body's systems back into balance.
When an imbalance is occurring acupuncture provides a powerful way to set it right.
Periods that are always too long can be shortened when the underlying imbalance is addressed.
Cycles that are too short (say, 21 days long) can be lengthened when that imbalance is corrected.
Heavy cramping during the menstrual period can be addressed in this way as well.
Acupuncture provides a way to make these specific adjustments in the body without drugs or surgery.
Through acupuncture the body can be given a clear signal that helps bring it back to homeostasis and that state we call health.
If you are among them you know that having to deal with unexpected bleeding (often at the worst possible times) can be a huge headache.
Add to this worry over whether you will be able to become pregnant, should and when you desire to have children, and there can be a lot of emotional energy attached to this problem.
In this article we look at whether acupuncture can provide a drug-free, hormone-free, natural approach to treat this problem.
Sometimes an otherwise healthy woman has menstrual cycles which are scattered all over the calendar.
One month her period will be long, another month it will be short.
Sometimes she may skip a period entirely.
She may have light spotting a couple of times a month.
Serious menstrual cramping may be involved.
The Medical Approach The approach of "western medicine" to menstrual cycle regulation is typically a one-size-fits-all approach.
No matter what the menstrual irregularity the go-to approach is often hormone therapy, typically in the form of birth control pills.
The pills take over the job your body should naturally be performing in regulating the menstrual cycle.
The medical approach ignores the underlying cause of the irregular hormone levels the body is creating.
The problem may clear up on its own, or it may not.
With the pills masking the symptoms it is not possible to know either way.
Meanwhile a woman may experience side-effects from the pill such as weight gain, decreased sexual desire, mood changes, and increased risk of certain diseases.
The Acupuncture Approach Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine look at health a different way.
All disease, including irregular menstrual cycles, come from some form of functional imbalance.
This makes sense to most people immediately.
If the function of one or more systems in the body are insufficient, or are working overtime, true health will be elusive.
This understanding puts the one-size-fits-all approach into perspective.
One can create functional balance only by first understanding what is out of balance.
Here is where acupuncture really shines.
An acupuncturist will take time to understand exactly what is happening in the patient's body.
Only with a clear and correct understanding of the imbalance is there a hope to set things right and bring the body's systems back into balance.
When an imbalance is occurring acupuncture provides a powerful way to set it right.
Periods that are always too long can be shortened when the underlying imbalance is addressed.
Cycles that are too short (say, 21 days long) can be lengthened when that imbalance is corrected.
Heavy cramping during the menstrual period can be addressed in this way as well.
Acupuncture provides a way to make these specific adjustments in the body without drugs or surgery.
Through acupuncture the body can be given a clear signal that helps bring it back to homeostasis and that state we call health.
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