{"id":69,"date":"2010-02-09T02:57:42","date_gmt":"2010-02-09T02:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drluacupuncture.com\/?p=69"},"modified":"2021-03-02T19:57:38","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T03:57:38","slug":"treatment-of-dysmenorrhea-with-acupuncture-and-chinese-herbs-a-case-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drluacupuncture.com\/index.php\/treatment-of-dysmenorrhea-with-acupuncture-and-chinese-herbs-a-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Treatment of dysmenorrhea with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs- A Case Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yan Lu, L.Ac.
\nClinical Case Study #4
\nTreatment of dysmenorrhea with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs- A Case Study
\nABSTRACT<\/strong>
\nBackground Treatment of dysmenorrhea with pharmaceutical medicine is effective, but
\nmay not prevent recurrence
\nObject To present a case that demonstrates the effectiveness of acupuncture and
\nChinese herbs for dysmenorrhea
\nResult reliving symptoms of dysmenorrhea in a 28 year-old women using
\nacupuncture and Chinese herbs after 7 weeks of treatments
\nConclusion The positive results in this case indicates that acupuncture and Chinese
\nherbs may be a viable treatment option in treating dysmenorrhea
\nBACKGROUND<\/strong>
\nBiomedicine Perspective
\nDysmenorrhea can be divided into primary dysmenorrhea and secondary dysmenorrhea.
\nPrimary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain associated with ovular cycles without pathologic
\nfindings. The pain usually begins within 1-2 years after the menarche and become more
\nsevere with time. The frequency of cases increases up to age 20 and then decreases with
\nage and markedly with parity. 50 to 75 percent of women are affected at some time, and
\n5-6 percent has incapacitating pain. Primary dysmenorrhea is low abdomen pain which is
\ncrampy or colicky or dull ache and radiate to the back or inner thighs. The pain may start
\nbefore or with menses, last 1 or more days and may be associated with nausea, diarrhea,
\nheadache, and flushing. The pain is produced by uterine vasoconstriction, anoxia, and
\nsustained contractions mediated by prostaglandins. The pelvic examination is normal
\nbetween menses; examination during menses may produce discomfort, but there are no
\npathologic findings. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, ketoprofen,
\nmefenamic acid, naproxen) are generally helpful. A drug may be more effective if started
\n24 to 48 hours before and continued 1 or 2 days after menses begins. If pain continues to
\ninterfere with daily life, suppression of ovulation with low dose estrogen-progesterone
\noral contraceptives is advised. But when patients want to get pregnant and stop birthcontrol
\npills, dysmenorrhea may come back. NSAIDs cannot prevent recurrence of
\ndysmenorrhea, too. Secondary dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain for which an organic
\ncause exists. The common causes are endometrosis and pelvic inflammation. Other
\ncauses include submucous myoma, IUD use, cervical stenosis with obstruction, or blind
\nuterine horn. (1)
\nTraditional Chinese Medicine Perspective
\nDysmenorrhea in Chinese medicine can be caused by many reasons such as excess or
\ndeficient conditions. The excess conditions may include the following: Qi and blood
\nstagnations can cause this disease. Depression over period of time can cause liver qi
\nstagnation, which can cause blood stasis leading to obstruction of flowing of qi and
\n2
\nblood, thus cause this disease. Coldness retention in the uterus is another pathogen.
\nWalking in the rain without a cover, swim in cold water, eating too much cold food
\nduring menses, or living in damp-cold environment can lead to retention of coldness in
\nthe uterus and Chong and Ren channels causing obstruction of flowing of qi and blood;
\ncongenital yang deficiency with yin coldness-excess cause deficient coldness in the
\nChong and Ren channels leading to blood stasis and dysmenorrhea. Lower jiao dampheat
\ndisturb qi and blood can also cause dysmenorrhea. The above reasons are mainly
\nexcess conditions that can cause dysmenorrhea (except deficient coldness).
\nThe following reasons are deficient conditions. Deficiency of qi and blood due to
\ndeficiency of spleen and stomach or after severe illness leads to malnourishment of uterus
\nand Chong and Ren channels, in addition to deficient qi will also cause blood stasis, thus
\ndysmenorrhea occurs. Liver and kidney deficiency due to congenital condition or overindulgence
\nin sex activity or giving birth many times cause deficiency of essence and
\nblood, leading to malnourishment of uterus, Chong and Ren channels, thus
\ndysmenorrhea.
\nThe formula treatment of dysmenorrhea for qi and blood stasis include ge xia zhu yu
\ntang, chai hu su gan san, xiao yao san, jing ling zi san, shi xiao san. Formula for coldness
\nretention include shao fu zhu yu tang, wen jing tang. Formula for damp-heat include qing
\njing san, qing re tiao xue tang, dan zhi xiao yao wan, long dan xie gan tang. Formula for
\nqi and blood deficiency include ba zhen tang, sheng yu tang, wu ji bai feng wan. Formula
\nfor liver and kidney deficiency include tiao gan tang.
\nAcupuncture points for excess conditions including qi and blood stasis, coldness
\nretention, and damp-heat retention include CV3, BL32, LI4, SP10, SP8, LIV3, KID14
\nand ST28. Acupoints for deficient condition include CV4, BL20, BL23, ST36, SP6, PC6
\nand Sp4. (2)
\nResearch
\nWu described treating 40 women with severe dysmanorrhea with Chinese herbal
\nformula-Tongjing Power and obtained satisfactory result. Tonjing Power consists of 15g
\neach of dan shen, chi shao, pu huang, wu ling zhi, and 10g each of yan hu suo, chuan
\nxiong, gui zhi. The patients took Tongjing Power 30g tid three days before onset of
\nmenstruation for 6 days during each cycle, and 3 menstrual cycles constituted a complete
\ncourse of treatment. To assess the effectiveness of the treatment, Wu use the methods of
\nobserving clinical symptom changing, checking the blood flow parameter of uterine arties
\nby Doppler flow imaging and assay of hemorheologic data. Of the 40 patients treated
\nwith Tongjing, 12 showed marked improvement, 24 were somewhat improved, and 4
\nshowed no improvement. The total effectiveness rate was 90% (3).
\nLi reported treating 52 cases of primary dysmenorrhea with acupuncture and got good
\nresults. Main acupoints included CV3, UB32, SP8 and SP6. Supplementary points for
\nexcess condition included CV4; for deficient condition included BL23, CV4, and ST36.
\nOf the 52 cases, following 2 sessions of acupuncture treatment, 32 were cured, 17 were
\nimproved and 3 were ineffective, with an effective rate of 94.2% (4).
\nCASE HISTORY
\n3
\nPatient Identification and Chief Complaint
\nThis patient is 28 year-old married female with severe dysmenorrhea.
\nHistory of Chief Complaint
\nThe patient started her menses at age 12, her cycle was usually 28 days with 5 days flow.
\nThe patient had severe menstrual cramping with heavy bleeding since June of 2000. She
\ndescribed the symptoms as feeling <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yan Lu, L.Ac. Clinical Case Study #4 Treatment of dysmenorrhea with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs- A Case Study ABSTRACT Background Treatment of dysmenorrhea with pharmaceutical medicine is effective, but may not prevent recurrence Object To present a case that demonstrates the effectiveness of acupuncture and Chinese herbs for dysmenorrhea Result reliving symptoms of dysmenorrhea in 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