On Pins and Needles About Not Being Able to Conceive? Try Acupuncture!

Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine and therapy based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) system that dates back well over 3000 years.[1] The process involves the use of very thin needles which are inserted into the body to various depths in order to restore balance to an individual’s energy or ‘qi’ (pronounced chi).[2]

Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine believe that an individual’s health lies in their “yin” and “yang” life force, which must be balanced and harmonious for optimal health.[3] According to acupuncturists, there are 14 channels or meridians in the human body where one’s life force flows and this energy can be accessed from one or more of the 2,000 acupuncture points on the body.[4]

A trained and certified acupuncturists will address your health issues by inserting the needles into these points in various combinations in order to restore the balance of one’s yin and yang energy.[5]

So how can acupuncture help with infertility? Well according to the British Acupuncture Council, acupuncture may boost female fertility by optimizing and/or tackling the following issues:

• Regulation of hormone function
• Increasing blood flow to the uterus and ovaries to increase changes of an embryo implementation
• Decreasing the cause of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• Reliving everyday stress[6]

Furthermore, acupuncturists believe that acupuncture can help with:

• PMS (Pre-menstrual syndrome)
• Painful menstruation
• Irregular or absent periods
• Preparation for IVF
• Conditions regarding pelvic inactivity – endometriosis, uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts[7]

The British Acupuncture Council have also implied that a man’s fertility can also be boosted through acupuncture by targeting acupuncture points that help increase sperm motility and testosterone and decreasing the temperature of the scrotum.[8]

It is important to note that acupuncture is considered a “pseudoscience” and there’s currently no scientific proof that energy channels or acupuncture points in and on the body exists (but also none that prove that they don’t!). However, researchers and experts have used neuroscience to explain the practice, stating that acupuncture points are areas on the body that stimulate the nerves, muscles and connective tissues.[9] When stimulated, these areas increase blood flow and trigger the body’s natural painkillers, making acupuncture fairly painless and helping to relive stress.[10]

In conclusion, acupuncture is an ancient alternative practice of medicine that has grown in popularity around the world for its generally positive benefits and outcomes. In particular, couples and individuals looking to conceive have turned to acupuncture to boost fertility as it’s cost-effective, chemical free and generally painless. So whether you’re trying to conceive naturally or looking into IVF or egg donation or IVF with egg donation, why not give acupuncture a go to increase your chances of conceiving? No harm; no foul, as the saying goes.

Also, if you’re looking to travel abroad for fertility treatments and are thinking of IVF in Prague or egg donation in the Czech Republic, check out Medical Travel Czech’s website for more details.