Acupuncture Treatment for Fertility

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Infertility is considered an inability to conceive in a sexually active couple who are trying to get pregnant for one year. About 8-12% of the couples in the world are facing problems with infertility, and in this modern times the per cent is getting bigger, and 20% of the cases are due to both male and female factor. By the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) infertility occurs due to disrupted vital balance and blockages in the Qi energy and Blood circulation flow. CASE REPORT: We present a case of a young couple, 28 years old man and woman who were unable to conceive after trying for a year. Both were treated with acupuncture treatment in a clinic for TCM and acupuncture in Skopje, Macedonia. Treatments were with duration of 35-40 minutes on both sides of the body. Treatments were done indoors, at room temperature, once a week in three months. The man has done 4 treatments to improve the sperm quality. The woman had ovarian cysts which were gone after 7 treatments and succeeded to get pregnant. Acupoints that were used in the treatment in both patients are: HN1 (SiShenCong), LI4 (HeGu), ST36 (ZuSanLi), GB34 (YangLingQuan), SP9 (YinLingQuan), SP6 (SanYinJiao), LR3 (TaiChong), RN13 (ZhongWan), RN7 (QiHai), RN4 (GuanYuan), RN2 (QuGu), ST29 (GuiLai), ST25 (TianShu), GB20 (FengChi), DU14 (DaZhui), BL18 (GanShu), BL19 (DanShu), BL20 (PiShu), BL21 (WeiShu), BL25 DaChangShu) and BL32 (CiLiao). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture as a treatment for infertility shows great results both in man and women. Acupuncture can be considered as successful treatment in restoring fertility in the patients, by improving the sperm quality and ovaries function and balancing the endocrine system and hormones.